Somali-American Politician Ilhan Omar Files to Run For Congress

The dominoes continue to fall after U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison withdrew from his re-election campaign to run for Minnesota Attorney General.

State Rep. Ilhan Omar filed her candidacy for Ellison’s seat in Congress Tuesday afternoon, just hours before the deadline. Minnesota’s reliably Democratic 5th Congressional District represents Minneapolis and several suburbs to the west.

Also filing Tuesday to race for Ellison’s seat are state Sen. Patricia Torres and state Rep. Margaret Anderson Kelliher, both Democrats.

Omar, a Somali refugee who first came to the U.S. as a child, was first elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2016, making history as the nation’s first Somali-American lawmaker.

Since then, Omar has been the focus of national media attention, appearing on several media across the world. She was also the subject of a documentary that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year.

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