Somali-born women shine in US elections as Ilhan Omar gets re-elected

MINNEAPOLIS - Preliminary results from the US mid-term elections held on Tuesday indicate that Somalis living in the country have performed exceedingly well, with progressive Democrat Ilhan Omar sailing through her third term in office, in her pursuit of making history.

Ms. Omar, an agitator of human rights and a fierce critic of the Grand Old Party [GOP] famously known as Republicans, humbled her closest challenger Cicely Davis to win Minnesota's Fifth Congregational District, which she has been serving since 2018.

Viewed as a leftist by critics, Ms. Omar is a visible figure in the Democratic party and commands a huge following across the world. The district - one of the most Democratic in the country, and the most Democratic in Minnesota - includes Minneapolis and 14 surrounding suburbs.

"We have survived a wannabe fascist president, a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic that took so many of our family members, the murder of George Floyd in our city, and the uprising that followed. So I know we're gonna survive whatever they throw at us over the next two years," Omar said.

The Somali-born refugee whose parents were victims of civil war which forced them to neighboring Kenya before moving to America, narrated her tough background while encouraging refugees to fight for their space in modern American politics which has shaped her career.

"As a little girl, huddled in a refugee camp, displaced from a civil war that tore my birth country of Somalia apart, I just wanted to make it out alive," she said in her victory speech which was posted on her official Twitter handle.

"This seat is for everybody in my district, regardless of who they love, how they pray, the color of their skin, or even how they vote, and I will continue to fight for all of you," added the firebrand Democrat who also expressed optimism that her party will win the majority in Senate and House of Representatives.

Omar surprised political analysts in August when she won her primary against Democratic challenger Don Samuels by just 2 percentage points. By comparison, she defeated 2020 challenger Antone Melton-Meaux by 20 points.

Samuels' pro-police stance countered that of the congresswoman, who supported the failed Minneapolis ballot measure that - in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder by Minneapolis police – sought to replace MPD with a new public safety agency, CBS reports.

Davis, who describes herself as "a conscious, concerned conservative," is the state director of the anti-poverty organization Blexit.

Her campaign focused on public safety concerns, specifically how crime has bled from Minneapolis into the suburbs, as well as "kitchen table issues" like inflation's impact on family finances.

In state assemblies, a number of Somali-Americans also managed to secure seats, especially in the Maine House of Representatives. Deqa Dhalac, currently Mayor of South Portland is the projected winner, defeating Republican candidate Michael Dougherty. She is joined in the House by Mana Abdi who was running unopposed in Lewiston, Maine.

There are a number of Somali Americans who are expected to scoop seats across the country once the final results are out. The Democrats are fighting to control the Senate and House of Representatives to help shape the agenda of President Joe Biden, who expressed satisfaction with the ongoing process.

GAROWE ONLINE