'Not my first rodeo': meet the 21-year-old serving as Georgia's youngest state legislator

[cbabe]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/31/muhammad-akbar-ali-youngest-georgia-house-democrat

‘Not my first rodeo’: meet the 21-year-old serving as Georgia’s youngest state legislator

Democrat Muhammad Akbar Ali joins the Georgia state house as a legislator representing an Atlanta suburb

George Chidi in Atlanta
Wed 31 Dec 2025 11.00 EST

Muhammad Akbar Ali, a 21-year-old recent college graduate, won a runoff election for a state house seat in Atlanta’s suburbs earlier this month, becoming the youngest Georgia state legislator serving today – perhaps the youngest ever.

The key to the young Democrat’s victory and his strategy moving forward? Experience.

“This isn’t my first rodeo,” Ali said, describing how he intends to work across the aisle in a Republican-dominated legislature. “I’ve been around the other side of the aisle and seen how bills are done. It’s all relationship-based. A lot of the Democratic delegation supports me, but some Republicans are also familiar with me. They may not support me, but they know who I am and that they can work with me.”

Ali’s political activism began in elementary school, when municipal lawmakers began erecting zoning roadblocks against the construction of a new mosque in Lilburn, Georgia. At the time, suburban Gwinnett county was about 10 years into revolutionary demographic changes brought on by rapid growth.

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[CurtEastPoint]

1. Good for him! Take a look at his campaign site

https://www.forakbarali.com/