Minnesota: Ilhan Omar wins, becomes first Somali-American in US House of Representatives
Ilhan Omar just won her race in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District to become, alongside Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), one of the first Muslim women in Congress. She’ll also be the first Somali-American in the U.S. House.
The win was easy: 78.2% to 21.8% for Jennifer Zielinski.
DFA’s Jim Dean on Ilhan Omar’s history-making victory in Minnesota’s 5th congressional district:
“With her victory tonight, Ilhan Omar not only becomes the first Somali-American and one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, she’s also set to become one of the House’s strongest champions for the kind of bold, inclusive populist reforms that have brought millions of new voters to the polls all across the country.
“Democracy for America was honored endorse Ilhan earlier in her successful run for the state legislature, we are proud to be one of Ilhan Omar’s earliest endorsers in her race for Congress and we look forward to fighting alongside her for years to come.” — Jim Dean, Chair, Democracy for America
Omar faced a lot of attacks for her anti-semitic tweet from a couple of years ago.
On November 16, 2012, Somali-born Minnesota state Rep. Ilhan Omar (D), who’s currently running for the state’s 5th Congressional District seat, sent out the following tweet:
Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel. #Gaza #Palestine #Israel
In May of this year, Twitter user John Gilmore dug up the six-year-old tweet, forcing Omar to defend herself.
She responded: “Drawing attention to the apartheid Israeli regime is far from hating Jews. You are a hateful sad man, I pray to Allah you get the help you need and find happiness.”
Drawing attention to the apartheid Israeli regime is far from hating Jews. You are a hateful sad man, I pray to Allah you get the help you need and find happiness. https://t.co/SvEXjlxlEN
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) May 31, 2018
Ilhan Omar
