U.S. congresswoman IIhan Omar launches re-election bid

FILE: Omar, then a candidate for the Minnesota House of Representatives, speaks at a Hillary for Minnesota event at the University of Minnesota in October 2016

WASHINGTON - The Somalia-born US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar on Monday launched her re-election bid as she seeks to retain her Minnesota 5th District seat for the third time consecutively ahead of November mid-term elections.

Ilhan Omar, who was born in Somalia almost 40 years ago, was first elected in 2018 through the Democratic Party and would easily retain her seat in 2020 for the second term. She was the first Muslim woman to be elected to Congress.

Omar said in a news release that she chose to run to help build a better world by addressing a host of issues including economic and income inequality and climate change. She has been critical on matters of human rights throughout her time in Congress.

"When I first ran for this office there was one thing I kept coming back to. Something I said to myself and to the voters over and over: I believe that a better world is possible," she said in the release. "I still believe that."

During her two terms in Congress, Ms. Omar has passed eight bills and amendments into law, introduced more than 100 bills and amendments, and co-sponsored nearly 1,100, according to the release.

The firebrand legislator grabbed headlines due to her ideological differences with former US President Donald Trump, whom she often chided for discriminating against Muslims. Trump at some point threatened to "deport" her from the US.

"I still believe in a world where we choose peace over war, diplomacy over bellicosity, and the human rights of all people over the profits of the military-industrial complex. A world where we put human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy, oppose war and militarism, and pursue accountability for human rights abuses wherever they occur," she said in the release.

"If you believe a better world is possible, join me." Calls to Minnesota Republican Party Chair David Hann were not immediately returned on Monday, The Tribune reports.

Last year, Ms. Omar tasked the US to chip in and help stabilize the Horn of Africa following turbulent moments. In Ethiopia, the country is struggling to contain the Tigray war as Sudan faces military coups. Her native Somalia is struggling to conclude Lower House elections.

GAROWE ONLINE