Rep. Loretta Sanchez serves on both the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on Armed Services. | AP Photo Democratic Senate hopeful: Up to 20 percent of Muslims want caliphate ‘They are willing to use and they do use terrorism,’ Rep. Loretta Sanchez says.

A prominent Democratic congresswoman and Senate candidate said that up to 20 percent of Muslims want to establish an Islamic caliphate and would use "terrorism" to achieve that goal.

Rep. Loretta Sanchez said Muslims seeking a caliphate are willing to use terrorism and violence to impose their views on the Western world.


“We know that there is a small group, and we don’t know how big that is — it can be anywhere between 5 and 20 percent, from the people that I speak to — that Islam is their religion and who have a desire for a caliphate and to institute that in any way possible," Sanchez said on "PoliticKING with Larry King."

“They are not content enough to have their way of looking at the world, they want to put their way on everybody in the world,” she said. “And again, I don’t know how big that is, and depending on who you talk to, but they are certainly — they are willing to go to extremes. They are willing to use and they do use terrorism.”

First elected in 1996, Sanchez serves on the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on Armed Services.

Sanchez is running against Democratic state Attorney General Kamala Harris for the California Senate seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer. Harris is the front-runner in the race, but Sanchez has wide support among Hispanics who want to see a Latino elected from the state.

Her comments, which were first reported by Buzzfeed, come amid a heightened focus on Islam. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said this week he supports banning all Muslims from entering the United States, a statement that was widely criticized by lawmakers across the political spectrum.

Emily Morris, a spokeswoman for Sanchez, said there are varying figures on Muslims who support a caliphate. Morris stressed that Sanchez also said in the original interview that it's unknown how large that pool is.

“I strongly support the Muslim community in America and believe that the overwhelming majority of Muslims do not support terrorism or ISIS. We must enlist the voices of the Muslim community in our fight against ISIS instead of alienating them through fear-mongering and discrimination," Sanchez said in a statement.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the year that Sanchez was first elected to Congress.

