State Rep. Ilhan Omar won the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party endorsement Sunday for a seat in Congress to…
State Rep. Ilhan Omar won the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party endorsement Sunday for a seat in Congress to represent the west metro.
If elected, she would become the first Somali-American member of Congress. A first-term member of the Minnesota House representing Minneapolis, she is already the nation’s first and only Somali-American lawmaker.
Omar was endorsed at a DFL convention for the Fifth Congressional District on Sunday.
The seat is currently held by Rep. Keith Ellison, who has opted to run for Minnesota attorney general. Other Democrats in the running include state Sen. Patricia Torres Ray, Frank Drake, former House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher and Jamal Abdi Abdulahi. Republicans seeking the job include Jennifer Zielinski, Christopher Chamberlin and Bob Carney. Zielinski won the GOP endorsement.
The Aug. 14 primary will whittle the field down before the November general election.
“Omar represents what’s great about America,” DFL Party Chair Ken Martin said in a statement. “Raised by a family of public servants who were forced from their homeland because of civil war and after four years in a refugee camp immigrated to the U.S., Omar has shown her dedication to serving all families who want a better life for their children.”
Source: twincities
