On August 28, the campaign of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris said it had hired an Egyptian-American lawyer who was a former official at the Department of Homeland Security.
The move is aimed at increasing outreach to Arab-American voters, who are believed to be able to influence the outcome in several battleground states in the November 5 election. Previously, Ms. Harris' campaign team also hired Afghan-American lawyer Nasrina Bargzie to reach out to Muslim voters.
Specifically, Ms. Brenda Abdelall will be tasked with attracting votes from the Arab community - which is frustrated with the US support in the conflict between Israel and the Hamas Islamic Movement in Gaza. Ms. Abdelall, who grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, used to run a blog and website about Middle Eastern cuisine. In January 2021, shortly after Mr. Donald Trump left the White House, Ms. Abdelall became the head of the Department of Homeland Security's civil rights office.
Democratic candidate Harris is currently in a tight race with Republican candidate Donald Trump. The Muslim and Arab vote is expected to determine the outcome in battleground states like Michigan, which has one of the largest Muslim and Arab populations in the US. US President Joe Biden won the majority of Arab and Muslim voters in 2020, but his support for Israel has disappointed many members of the community.