Atif Mustafa Qarni (born 1978) is an American teacher, former military non-commissioned officer, and Democratic politician who was appointed by Governor Ralph Northam as Virginia Secretary of Education.
Early life and education Emigrating from Karachi, Pakistan, with his family at the age of ten, Qarni grew up in Parkville, Maryland, before moving to Manassas, Virginia, in 2005. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in sociology from George Washington University, a master’s in history and a teaching license in secondary education from George Mason University, a master's in educational administration from Strayer University, and is a doctoral candidate at Vanderbilt University.https://www.asianfortunenews.com/2013/10/election-profile-atif-qarni-virginia-school-teacher-adding-new-role/
Career He served in the United States Marine Corps, was deployed to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and rose to the rank of Sergeant. He served as a paralegal at the international law firm McDermott Will & Emery before beginning a career in teaching. He then served as a civics, economics, U.S. history, and math teacher at Beville Middle School in Dale City. Qarni ran for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates in 2013, losing to incumbent Bob Marshall, and for the Virginia Senate in 2015, losing the Democratic nomination to Jeremy McPike. He was appointed as the Virginia Secretary of Education by governor Ralph Northam in 2017. In 2021, he resigned from the cabinet position to become the managing director of external affairs at Temple University’s Hope Center. In 2024, he ran in the Democratic primary for Virginia's 10th congressional district, placing third.
Electoral history
Date Election Candidate Party Votes % Virginia House of Delegates, 13th district November 5, 2013 General Robert G. Marshall Republican 8,946 51.33 Atif M. Qarni Democratic 8,448 48.47 Write Ins 35 0.20 Virginia Senate, 29th district June 9, 2015 Primary Jeremy S. McPike Democratic 1,377 43.18 Atif M. Qarni 1,152 36.12 Michael T. Futrell 660 20.70 United States House of Representatives, Virginia's 10th districtJune 18, 2024PrimarySuhas Subramanyam Democratic 13,504 30.4Dan Helmer 11,784 26.6Atif Qarni 4,768 10.7Eileen Filler-Corn 4,131 9.3Jennifer Boysko 4,016 9.0David Reid 1,419 3.2Michelle Maldonado 1,412 3.2Adrian Pokharel 1,028 2.3Krystle Kaul 982 2.2Travis Nembhard 722 1.6Marion Devoe 386 0.9Mark Leighton 224 0.5
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