The Tide: Ilhan Omar

Minnesota State Representative Ilhan Omar has already made history as a millennial legislator, as a person who came to the U.S. as refugee and the first Somali-American legislator in U.S. history. Omar was first elected in 2016 to serve a central Minneapolis state house district. This November, she, along with Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, will be the first Muslim women to serve as members of Congress.

Born in Somalia in 1982, Omar’s family fled the country during a civil war when she was eight years old. After spending four years in a Kenyan refugee camp, her family eventually settled in Minneapolis. Omar worked as a professional political operative for Minnesota Democrats, serving as a campaign manager for a state senator and a senior policy aide to a Minneapolis city councilor. As a first-year legislator, Omar set herself apart in many leadership positions. As assistant minority leader, Omar worked with Rep. Peggy Flanagan to increase paid sick leave and to eliminate the statute of limitations for sexual violence in Minnesota. Rep. Flanagan is the Democratic Party’s nominee for lieutenant governor of Minnesota this year, which would make her the first indigenous woman to hold an executive office in the United States. Early in her career, Omar joined the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement to protest Israel's purported human rights violations. Many conservative commentators have used Omar’s criticism of the state of Israel to label her as an anti-Semite and bigot. In response, Omar said she in no way meant for her comments to reflect negatively on the citizens of Israel, only the government’s actions toward Palestinians. “These accusations are without merit,” she said. “They are rooted in bigotry toward a belief about what Muslims are supposed to believe.” Though describing herself as a proud Democratic Socialist and supporter of Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary, Omar was a highly visible surrogate for Hillary Clinton in 2016. This year, she and several other women of color are not just running from the party’s establishment, they are running to change it. Roll Call named her a “progressive rising star” in the Democratic Party. On June 5, 2018, Omar filed to run for the Minnesota's Fifth Congressional district after Rep. Keith Ellison announced his candidacy for state attorney general. Congressman Ellison is the first Muslim to ever serve in the U.S. Congress. Omar has called for a $15 minimum wage, Medicare For All and elimination of student debt in the United States. She has appeared alongside many other prominent 2018 candidates, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders and Rashida Tlaib. At 35 years old and running in a deep blue district in Minnesota, Omar is likely to hold on her Congressional seat for as long as she would like. Whether you disagree with her policies or not, Omar has made a reputation for herself as a policy expert and a contemplative, collegial legislator. By making history as the first Muslim woman to serve in Congress, Omar and other change-making candidates emerging this year will not only change the Democratic House caucus, but the future of legislating in Congress.