Minneapolis organizer Ilhan Omar made history Tuesday when she won a
Minnesota House seat and prepared to become the nation's first
Somali-American legislator.
Omar, 34, won House District 60B, which comprises parts of the
Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, southeast Minneapolis and the University
of Minnesota.
It was represented for decades by DFLer Phyllis Kahn. Omar defeated Kahn
in a primary contest and ran virtually unopposed after her Republican
opponent suspended his campaign for family reasons.
While her election wasn't a surprise in a reliably Democratic district,
she was elected by almost 80 percent of the vote there, it carried huge
symbolic importance in Minnesota, home to the nation's largest Somali
immigrant population.
It came just days after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump ripped Somali immigration as a threat to Minnesota.
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