A woke Seattle Congressional candidate told a local newspaper she does not have a public stance on LGBTQ rights to avoid upsetting Muslim voters.

Melissa Chaudhry, 34, is running for Congress for a second time in Washington State after losing her bid in 2024.

During a recent explicitly on-the-record interview with local newspaper The Stranger, she said her campaign website does not have anything about gay rights because she 'was careful about her Muslim constituents.'

Chaudhry insisted she supports justice, health care, and protections in housing and employment for gay people.

However, when asked by the newspaper why that is not included on her platform,  Chaudhry said, 'Because a lot of Muslims do not feel that way, unfortunately.'

Her comment prompted a rebuke from Andrew Ashiofu, the chair of Washington Stonewall Democrats, the caucus for LGBTQ Democrats.

'Equally alarming is her acknowledgment that she omitted LGBTQ+ protections from her platform because she feared it would alienate parts of her coalition,' Ashiofu wrote on Facebook.

'Our community is not expendable. LGBTQ+ rights are not optional. They are foundational to any candidate seeking Democratic support.' 

Notably, a 2025 report from the Pew Research Center found that 41 percent of Muslims in the United States say that homosexuality should be accepted.

Chaudhry, who is white and wears a headscarf, is married to a disabled immigrant Army veteran, Zahid Chaudhry, who was detained by ICE in 2025 at his citizenship interview.

The couple have been married since 2022 and have two children together, according to her website.

She also stated that her father is a Navy doctor and her grandfather was a Nazi concentration camp survivor who later died of cancer from his torture scars.

Chaudhry commented on Ashiofu's post claiming that 'dignity, safety and opportunity for all' are the foundation of her campaign.

'I have been a friend and advocate for equality and justice for ALL people my entire life,' she wrote.

Chaudhry also claimed that she was a founding member of the Gay-Straight Alliance in high school, and revealed that her sister is in a homosexual relationship.

'I'm delighted for her, and will protect her and her partner's rights to life, liberty, and freedom to love each other, no matter what it takes,' she wrote.

'Some of my dearest friends for twenty years are a disabled lesbian woman and her partner, and their autistic son. If you are queer, and you are wondering if you and your rights are safe with me, I assure you from the bottom of my heart, you are, you have always been, and you always will be.'

Ashiofu told The Stranger, 'I decided not to respond. She’s throwing blame on other people and saying she has LGBTQ+ friends. That’s the same thing as a racist saying, "I have Black friends."'

The Daily Mail contacted Chaudhry's campaign for comment.