A Somali-American legislator in the Minnesota State House won the Democrat endorsement over the weekend in a competitive race to fill the congressional seat of Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison. Ilhan Omar, 36, became an overnight sensation when she became the first Somali-American to serve in a state legislature; she has served one term. Though the endorsement, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported, was largely “symbolic,” it still might help her score additional political capital.
Ellison is known nationally, especially among conservatives, for his far-left fringe views, including his support for Louis Farrakhan while Ellison was a law student. Minnesotans, however, seem to support him, at least in his district. He won nearly 70 percent of the votes cast in his re-election last year. Though Omar seems equally as popular as her would-be predecessor (provided she wins), local conservatives are wary of the young politician.
The local, long-running blog Powerline immediately voiced concern about Omar’s views and overnight popularity with media and voters. In early August, 33-year-old Ilhan Omar became an overnight sensation in Minnesota politics. Scott Johnson (of Powerline) wrote in another local publication “Minneapolis’s Star Tribune trumpeted Omar’s victory in a huge headline on its front page, proclaiming that the Somali immigrant’s victory had ‘made history.’ The paper followed up with two more retrospective stories admiring Omar’s triumph.”
Local conservatives expressed anxiety about Omar because of her background. John Hinderaker at Powerline said, when she first was elected to the state legislature, “that she appears to have committed bigamy and immigration fraud, a subject on which she refuses to answer questions. Because of her minority status-and, frankly, her exceptionally good looks–she has achieved national renown in a very short time.” It’s hard to imagine that a white male politician, with the same views, would enjoy the same favor from the media, surpassing scrutiny over possible bigamy and immigration fraud.
Even Omar’s legislative record, while typical of a Democrat, is disappointing. She co-authored a bill “urging the President and Congress to recognize criminal elements of white nationalist and neo-Nazi organizations as domestic terrorist organizations.” Many of the bills she co-authored are either related to adding regulations to private companies or padding state bureaucracy. One bill she authored would have required landlords to provide tenants with information on voter registration, and another would have required the health department to be allowed to collect firearm ownership information.
In essence, she’s a typical far-left liberal.
The primary ballot vote in Minnesota is Aug. 14, and Omar still faces stiff competition. Still, the fact that she enjoys such popularity and has won the party’s favor — the same party who adores Rep. Keith Ellison, one of the most far-left wing politicians in Congress — is disconcerting for American politics.
Nicole Russell is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is a journalist in Washington, D.C., who previously worked in Republican politics in Minnesota. She was the 2010 recipient of the American Spectator’s Young Journalist Award.
