Kishoreganj-born Sheikh Rahman re-elected unopposed to Georgia State Senate
Bangladeshi-origin Sheikh Mujahidur Rahman Chandon, known as Sheikh Rahman, has been re-elected unopposed to Georgia State Senate District 5 in the United States. He had no opponent in the seat in the general election.
Sheikh Rahman was born in Sararchar village of Bajitpur upazila in Kishoreganj. News of his re-election has delighted people in his birthplace Bajitpur as well as expatriate Bangladeshis.
He is the son of freedom fighter Nazibur Rahman. During the Liberation War in 1971, his father served as camp supervisor of the 'Joy Bangla Jubo Shibir' in Agartala, India.
Sheikh Rahman is the elder brother of Sheikh Mojibur Rahman Iqbal, the member of parliament for Kishoreganj-5 (Bajitpur-Nikli). He is the second among three brothers and four sisters.
According to family sources, Sheikh Rahman moved to the United States in 1981. He later earned a BBA degree from the University of Georgia.
Sheikh Rahman was first elected a Georgia state senator in 2018. He is known as the state's first Muslim and Bangladeshi-origin lawmaker, and he has represented District 5 ever since.
According to the election results, with no candidate standing against him in the general election in this seat, Sheikh Rahman was elected unopposed. Preliminary results showed 35,101 votes recorded in his name.
Earlier, on 19 May, he secured the Democratic Party nomination by defeating Robin McCoy in the party primary. He received 6,188 votes in that election, while his rival Robin McCoy received 5,166.
He had also won this seat in the 2024 election, defeating Republican candidate Lisa Babbage on that occasion.
His nephew Sheikh Rafid Rahman said the family and local people are proud of his uncle for being elected a senator in Georgia, in the United States. Reaching this level as a Bangladeshi Muslim is difficult and challenging, he said; his uncle faced that challenge and succeeded, which is a matter of great pride for the family. He also expressed the hope that his uncle would hold even higher office in the future and bring honour to the country.
Bajitpur local resident Mahir Uddin said it felt very good to hear that Bajitpur's son Sheikh Rahman had been elected a US senator once again. On foreign soil he is bringing honour to Bangladesh as well as to his home area, and everyone is proud of the achievement. Sheikh Rahman stays in contact with people back home and keeps in touch with them, Mahir Uddin added.
