Somali-American woman becomes Minnesota lawmaker

Hair bundled into an orange hijab, Ilhan Omar put her hand on a copy of the Quran on Jan. 3 and began her two-year term in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Born in Somalia in 1982, the 34-year-old wife and mother of three now represents a legislative district in Minneapolis. She is the first Somali-American woman in U.S. history elected to such a high office.

If her election points to the changing face of American politics, the makeup of her district provides some context. It includes a triangle of land in the heart of Minneapolis sometimes called “Little Mogadishu,” with America’s highest concentration of Somali immigrants.

As a volunteer and candidate, Omar promoted liberal positions on education, civil rights, the environment, and economic empowerment. She advocates a $15 per hour minimum wage, free college tuition for most students, and same-sex marriage. It’s not clear how she reconciles the latter position with her Muslim faith.

Omar’s campaign faced controversy only in the broader context of immigration, specifically regarding African Muslims. Two days before the Nov. 8 election, Donald Trump’s campaign stopped in Minneapolis and he honed in on Omar’s community: “Here in Minnesota, you’ve seen firsthand the problems caused with faulty refugee vetting, with large numbers of Somali refugees coming into your state without your knowledge, without your support or approval, and with some of them then joining ISIS and spreading their extremist views all over our country.”

The crowd booed loudly, but the speech also prompted the mayor of Minneapolis, Betsy Hodges, to post a scathing response on Facebook the same day: “It is a privilege and an honor to be mayor of the city with the largest Somali population in this country.”

According to a 2010 American Community Survey, at least 76,000 Somali-born immigrants live in the United States. If Minnesota conservatives have a case against Omar, though, it’s not for her ancestry or family commitment—she tearfully thanked her father, husband, and children in her victory speech—but her liberal agenda.

In August, Omar’s Republican opponent, also a Somali, withdrew for personal reasons. Analysts said that made little difference: Omar was a virtual shoo-in as the Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate in one of the most liberal districts in the country.