Ilhan Omar Poised to Become the First Somali-American and First Muslim-American Woman in the US Congress

Somali-American Ilhan Omar on Tuesday captured the Democratic nomination for the 5th District US Congressional seat in Minnesota.

By winning the primary seat in this heavily democratic district, Ilhan is well poised to become the first Muslim-American woman as well as the first Somali-American in the history of the US Congress after the November mid-term elections. 

Ilhan,36, was born in Mogadishu, Somalia in 1982 but moved to a Kenyan refugee camp in 1991 following the civil war in Somalia. Ilhan and her family then moved to the United States in 1995, initially settling in Arlington, Virginia but then moving to Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Ilhan first drew national attention in 2016 when she became the first Somali-American in history to be elected to a state legislator anywhere in the country – she is currently serving as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives.

"Tonight we are celebrating because we engaged and empowered our community and we won!" Omar said in a statement on election night. "Our campaign staff, our volunteers, and the people of the Fifth Congressional District are the inspiration we need to get up every day and fight for a democracy that guarantees a more just and equitable society."

The Minnesota 5th District congressional seat has no incumbent defending it, after current Representative Keith Ellison, also a Muslim-American, left the seat to run for the Minnesota Attorney General seat.

Minnesota has a a big population of Somali-Americans and as of 2016, an estimated 80,000 Somalis were living in the state.