# Ilhan Omar *American politician; U.S. representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district since 2019* Ilhan Abdullahi Omar (born October 4, 1982) is a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] politician who has represented [[Minnesota]]'s 5th congressional district in the [[United States House of Representatives]] since 2019.[^1][^2] The district covers all of [[Minneapolis]] and part of its first-ring suburbs. From 2017 to 2019 she sat in the [[Minnesota House of Representatives]] for a Minneapolis seat.[^2] Omar won the state House seat for District 60B in November 2016 and became the first Somali-American legislator in the United States.[^3] In 2018 she succeeded [[Keith Ellison]] in the 5th district and became the first Somali American elected to Congress.[^4] In February 2023 the Republican-controlled House voted to remove her from the Foreign Affairs Committee. The House said her comments about Israel showed she could not be "an objective decision-maker".[^2] The record assembled here covers several matters. In 2018 Republican state representative [[Steve Drazkowski]] made campaign-finance accusations against her.[^3] The [[Star Tribune]] reported on a campaign-finance complaint and on a Federal Election Commission rejection of a complaint.[^5][^6] Her campaign paid $2.78 million in 2020-cycle contracts to the consulting firm of Tim Mynett, whom she married in March 2020.[^7] The press also reported on her marriage history.[^8] ## Early life and education Omar was born on October 4, 1982, in Mogadishu, in what was then the Somali Democratic Republic, and spent her first years in Baidoa. Her mother died when she was two, and her father and grandfather raised her.[^9] The family fled the Somali Civil War and spent four years in the Dadaab refugee camp in Garissa County, Kenya. They then obtained asylum in the United States and reached New York in 1995. After living in Arlington, Virginia, they settled in Minneapolis, where her father drove a taxi and later worked for the post office. At age 14 she went with her grandfather to caucus meetings and interpreted for him.[^9] ## Early career Omar worked as a community nutrition educator at the [[University of Minnesota]] from 2006 to 2009. In 2012 she managed Kari Dziedzic's reelection campaign for the Minnesota State Senate. From 2012 to 2013 she was a child nutrition outreach coordinator at the [[Minnesota Department of Education]].[^10] In 2013 she ran Andrew Johnson's campaign for Minneapolis City Council, and she was his senior policy aide from 2013 to 2015.[^10] On February 4, 2014, Omar was organizing a DFL caucus for House District 60B when five people attacked her. She suffered a concussion and was taken to a hospital. According to MinnPost, as cited in Wikipedia, council member Abdi Warsame had told Johnson the day before to warn Omar not to attend.[^10] By September 2015 she was Director of Policy Initiatives of the Women Organizing Women Network.[^10] ## Minnesota House of Representatives ### Elections In 2016 Omar ran on the [[Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party]] ticket in District 60B, which takes in part of northeast Minneapolis. She won the August 9 primary against [[Mohamud Noor]] and the incumbent, Phyllis Kahn.[^3] The project's time table records Kahn as a 44-year incumbent.[^11] The Republican nominee, Abdimalik Askar, withdrew in late August. Omar won the November general election, and her term started on January 3, 2017.[^3] ### Tenure and committee assignments In the 2017–2018 session Omar served as an assistant minority leader for the DFL caucus and authored 38 bills. She sat on three committees: Civil Law & Data Practices Policy; Higher Education & Career Readiness Policy & Finance; and State Government Finance.[^3] ### Campaign finance complaints In 2018 Drazkowski publicly alleged that Omar had used campaign money to pay a divorce attorney. He also alleged that speaking fees she accepted from public colleges violated Minnesota House rules. He later alleged that she had spent campaign funds on personal travel to Estonia and to places in the U.S.[^3] Omar said the legal fees were campaign-related and offered to give back the speaking fees. Her campaign called the accusations politically motivated and accused Drazkowski of using public funds to harass her. The pack does not record how these accusations were resolved.[^3] The Star Tribune separately reported that a complaint alleged a campaign-finance violation by Omar.[^5] In another report, the paper stated that the Federal Election Commission had rejected a campaign-finance complaint against her.[^6] The pack carries these reports' headlines without dates and does not establish whether they concern the same complaint.[^5][^6] ## U.S. House of Representatives ### 2018 election Ellison, who had held the 5th district seat for six terms, announced that he would not run again. Omar entered the race on June 5, 2018. The Minnesota DFL endorsed her on June 17 after two rounds of voting, and she won the August 14 primary with 48.2%.[^4] The district has a Cook Partisan Voting Index of D+26 and has been held by the DFL since 1963. In the November 6 general election she defeated Jennifer Zielinski with 78.0% of the vote.[^4] She took the oath on a Quran that had belonged to her grandfather.[^4] ### 2020 election Omar faced four opponents in the August 11, 2020 primary. The strongest was mediation lawyer Antone Melton-Meaux, who raised $3.2 million in April–June 2020. Omar raised about $500,000 in the same period.[^4] Much of Melton-Meaux's money came from pro-Israel groups, and the Star Tribune endorsed him. Omar won with 57.4% to his 39.2%.[^4] ## Political positions Omar is deputy chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. She has supported a $15 minimum wage, universal healthcare, student loan debt forgiveness, and protection of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. She has also called for abolishing [[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement]].[^2] In June 2019 she and Senator [[Tina Smith]] introduced the No Shame at School Act, which addressed the marking and punishment of students with school meal debt.[^12] On July 19, 2022, she and 17 other members of Congress were arrested for refusing to clear a street during a reproductive-rights protest outside the Supreme Court Building.[^12] ## Death threats and harassment In February 2019 the FBI arrested Coast Guard Lieutenant Christopher Paul Hasson. Prosecutors alleged that he was plotting to kill journalists and political figures, Omar among them, and that he had stockpiled weapons and compiled a hit list.[^13] On April 7, 2019, Patrick Carlineo Jr. was arrested for threatening, in a phone call to her office, to assault and murder Omar. He pleaded guilty on November 19, 2019, and Omar asked the court to be lenient.[^13] ## Personal life Omar became engaged to Ahmed Abdisalan Hirsi in 2002. She has described their marriage as unofficial and faith-based and has said they divorced within their faith tradition in 2008.[^7] In 2009 she married Ahmed Nur Said Elmi. By Omar's account, she and Elmi had a faith-based divorce in 2011, and she then reconciled with Hirsi.[^7] Her legal divorce from Elmi followed in 2017, and she legally married Hirsi in 2018. She filed for divorce from Hirsi on October 7, 2019, and it was finalized on November 5, 2019.[^7] The Star Tribune reported that a marriage discrepancy clouded her primary victory.[^8] MinnPost published an FAQ on her marriage and Somali culture.[^14] In March 2020 Omar married Tim Mynett, a political consultant. His firm, the E Street Group, received $2.78 million in contracts from her campaign during the 2020 cycle.[^7] Her Democratic primary opponent and conservative critics both criticized the arrangement. The campaign ended the contract on November 17, 2020.[^7] HarperCollins published her memoir, *This Is What America Looks Like*, written with Rebecca Paley, in 2020.[^7] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - Ilhan Omar, DFL member of the Minnesota House for District 60B from January 3, 2017, until 2019.[^3] - Ilhan Omar, U.S. representative for Minnesota's 5th district since 2019, succeeding Keith Ellison.[^1][^4] ### What - Campaign-finance accusations by Rep. Steve Drazkowski (R) in 2018, which Omar disputed.[^3] - A Star Tribune report of a campaign-finance complaint, and a Star Tribune report of an FEC rejection of a complaint (undated in the pack).[^5][^6] - American Almanac, a tracker source, reports in a headline that an effort by a Minnesota fraud committee to subpoena Omar fell one vote short. The pack does not identify the committee, the date, or the vote, and no primary record in the pack corroborates it.[^15] - On January 14, 2026, the [[United States Department of Justice]] issued release No. 26-21, titled *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*. Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^16] The pack gives no docket or status for the suit. It also does not connect Omar to the [[Affirmative action]] instruments at issue in it.[^16] ### When - February 4, 2014: Omar is attacked at a DFL caucus for District 60B.[^10] - August 9, 2016: Omar wins the DFL primary for District 60B.[^3] - January 3, 2017: her Minnesota House term begins.[^3] - June 5, 2018: Omar files for the 5th congressional district.[^4] - November 6, 2018: Omar is elected to Congress with 78.0%.[^4] - August 11, 2020: Omar wins the primary with 57.4%.[^4] - November 17, 2020: her campaign ends the E Street Group contract.[^7] - February 2023: the House removes Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee.[^2] ### Where - Minnesota House District 60B, part of northeast Minneapolis.[^3] - Minnesota's 5th congressional district: all of Minneapolis and some first-ring suburbs.[^2] ### How much - $2.78 million in 2020-cycle contracts from Omar's campaign to E Street Group.[^7] - $3.2 million raised by Melton-Meaux in April–June 2020, against about $500,000 raised by Omar.[^4] ### How many - 38 bills authored in the 2017–2018 session.[^3] ## Notes [^1]: Office of Rep. Ilhan Omar, *Ilhan Omar House Biography* — official biography of the U.S. representative for Minnesota's 5th district. https://omar.house.gov/about [^2]: Wikipedia, *Ilhan Omar*, lead section (rev. 1382075401, retrieved 2026-10-26) — birth date; 5th district since 2019 and its composition; Minnesota House 2017–2019; policy positions; February 2023 committee removal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilhan_Omar [^3]: Wikipedia, *Ilhan Omar*, "Minnesota House of Representatives" (retrieved 2026-10-26) — August 9, 2016 primary; Askar withdrawal; November 2016 win; term from January 3, 2017; 38 bills; committees; 2018 Drazkowski accusations and responses. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilhan_Omar [^4]: Wikipedia, *Ilhan Omar*, "U.S. House of Representatives" (retrieved 2026-10-26) — June 5, 2018 filing; June 17 endorsement; 48.2% and 78.0%; D+26; 2020 primary figures. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilhan_Omar [^5]: Star Tribune, *Complaint alleges campaign finance violation by Rep. Ilhan Omar* — report of a campaign-finance complaint. https://www.startribune.com/complaint-alleges-campaign-finance-violation-by-rep-ilhan-omar/558614112 [^6]: Star Tribune, *FEC rejects campaign finance complaint against Rep. Ilhan Omar* — report that the FEC rejected a complaint. https://www.startribune.com/fec-rejects-campaign-finance-complaint-against-rep-ilhan-omar/600136041 [^7]: Wikipedia, *Ilhan Omar*, "Personal life" (retrieved 2026-10-26) — marriage and divorce dates; Mynett marriage; $2.78 million E Street Group contracts; November 17, 2020 termination; 2020 memoir. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilhan_Omar [^8]: Star Tribune, *Marriage discrepancy clouds Ilhan Omar's historic primary victory* — report on a marriage discrepancy. https://www.startribune.com/marriage-discrepancy-clouds-ilhan-omar-s-historic-primary-victory/390247381 [^9]: Wikipedia, *Ilhan Omar*, "Early life and education" (retrieved 2026-10-26) — birth in Mogadishu; Dadaab camp; asylum; arrival in New York in 1995; settlement in Minneapolis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilhan_Omar [^10]: Wikipedia, *Ilhan Omar*, "Early career" and "Death threats and harassment" (retrieved 2026-10-26) — 2006–2015 posts; February 4, 2014 caucus attack. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilhan_Omar [^11]: Minnesota wiki Time Table, row TL-0855 (citing Wikipedia, *Ilhan Omar*) — Kahn described as a 44-year incumbent. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilhan_Omar [^12]: Wikipedia, *Ilhan Omar*, "Political positions" (retrieved 2026-10-26) — June 2019 No Shame at School Act; July 19, 2022 arrest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilhan_Omar [^13]: Wikipedia, *Ilhan Omar*, "Death threats and harassment" (retrieved 2026-10-26) — February 2019 Hasson arrest; April 7, 2019 Carlineo arrest and November 19 guilty plea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilhan_Omar [^14]: MinnPost, *Ilhan Omar, marriage, and Somali culture: an FAQ* (URL dated 2016/08) — FAQ on Omar's marriage history. https://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2016/08/ilhan-omar-marriage-and-somali-culture-faq/ [^15]: American Almanac, *Ilhan Omar stonewalls MN fraud committee as subpoena effort falls one vote short* — tracker report of a subpoena effort. https://americanalmanac.com/ilhan-omar-stonewalls-minnesota-fraud-committee-as-subpoena-effort-falls-one-vote-short/ [^16]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*, release No. 26-21 (Jan. 14, 2026) — filing of the suit; Attorney General Bondi's certification of general public importance. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime