Abdelnasser Rashid

Abdelnasser Rashid is an American politician serving as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 21st district since 2023. A Democrat, Rashid defeated redistricted incumbent Michael J. Zalewski in the primary election. The district includes the Southwest Side and southwest suburbs.
Rashid is the first Palestinian-American to serve in the Illinois General Assembly and is its first Muslim member, along with Nabeela Syed.

Early life and education

Rashid was born in Chicago, Illinois. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University and a Master of Business Administration in Finance and Economics from the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business.

Career

Rashid worked on Chuy García's 2015 mayoral campaign and on the Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign. He also served as deputy chief of staff to Cook County Clerk David Orr for two years.
In 2018, Rashid unsuccessfully ran for Cook County Commission for the 17th district, narrowly losing to Republican incumbent Sean M. Morrison by 1.14% of the vote. In 2020, he unsuccessfully ran for Cook County Board of Review.
Rashid had been advised to change his name to "Nas" and downplay his background in order to appeal to voters with prejudices against Arabs or perceived foreigners.