Ilhan Omar is not a stranger to making history. She is Minnesota’s first female State representative and in the last United States elections she once again made history. Omar has become the first Somali-American to be elected into the United States Congress. Along with Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar made history as the first Muslim women to be elected into the Congress.
Ilhan Omar, a Democrat, defeated Republican Jennifer Zielinski in the elections to determine who represents Minnesota’s Fifth district. The Fifth district covers all of Edina, Minneapolis, Richfield, Golden Valley and a few other suburbs.
Omar 36, is one of the top advocates for tighter gun restrictions, single-payer health care, as well as more expansive immigration policies. She has become sort of a national phenomenon because she rose to the Congress from being a refugee some years back. She migrated the the United States as a refugee when she was just 12. She went on to serve as a policy aide with the Minneapolis City Council before becoming a State Representative in 2016.
At a victory party in Minneapolis, Omar told her supporters “Here in Minnesota, we don’t only welcome immigrants; we send them to Washington.” The Congress seat for Minnesota has been held by Democrats for decades and Zielinski was hoping to change that at the polls this week but that was not meant to be.
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