# Omar Fateh *American politician; member of the Minnesota Senate for District 62 (DFL)* Omar Mahmood Fateh (born April 19, 1990) is a [[Minnesota]] politician who sits in the [[Minnesota Senate]] for District 62, a district covering part of south [[Minneapolis]] in Hennepin County. He belongs to the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL).[^1] In the 2025 election for [[Minneapolis mayor]], he held the Minneapolis DFL endorsement until the state party revoked it, citing irregularities. Incumbent Jacob Frey defeated him.[^2] He won his Senate seat in 2020 after defeating the incumbent, Jeff Hayden, in the DFL primary.[^3] He took office on January 5, 2021.[^4] ## Early life, education, and career Fateh's parents, Mahmood Fateh and Amina Ali, came from Somalia, and he was born in Washington, D.C. After attending Falls Church High School, he completed both undergraduate and graduate study at George Mason University. He spent childhood summers in Minneapolis and settled there in 2015.[^5] ## Political career ### Elections and campaigns Fateh's first candidacy, in 2015, was for one of the at-large seats on the Fairfax County School Board in northern Virginia. He asked the county Democratic Party for its endorsement, but the party backed the three incumbents seeking the three at-large seats.[^6] The contest was formally nonpartisan. Nine candidates ran: three Democratic-endorsed incumbents, three Republican-endorsed challengers, and two other independents besides Fateh, who finished eighth.[^6] Shortly afterward he relocated to Minneapolis. He worked in a nonpartisan voter-outreach position for the city and later took a job with the state of Minnesota.[^6] Three years later he sought the District 62A seat in the [[Minnesota House of Representatives]]. He lost the DFL primary to Hodan Hassan.[^7] ### Minnesota Senate In 2020 Fateh launched a primary challenge against Senator Jeff Hayden, the incumbent. Describing himself as a democratic socialist, he was backed by the Democratic Socialists of America and the Sunrise Movement, and he also won the DFL party endorsement.[^3] He beat Hayden in the August primary. He then took 89% of the general-election vote.[^3] He took his seat in the [[Minnesota Legislature]] on January 5, 2021. In that first term, Republicans held the Senate majority, while the DFL held the House and the [[governor]]'s office. Over the 2021–22 session he was the author of 54 bills.[^4] One of his bills enacted in the 2021–22 session removed fentanyl test strips from the category of drug paraphernalia. The *[[Star Tribune]]* reported in January 2023 that community organizations and nonprofits had distributed more than 100,000 of the strips since they were legalized.[^8] ## Political views ### Policing and public safety Fateh backed a 2021 ballot measure that would have replaced the [[Minneapolis Police Department]] (MPD) with a Department of Public Safety. The measure did not pass.[^9] For 2025 he has said replacing the MPD "isn't on the table," and his platform that year called for more public safety resources. He has also called publicly for barring the MPD from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).[^9] For 911 calls that do not need armed officers, he has said he wants an "alternative to policing".[^10] ### Housing and homelessness Fateh has backed rent stabilization and greater housing density. On homelessness he favors a "just cause" eviction rule that restricts the grounds on which landlords may evict. He has said that "the largest contributor to homelessness is evictions".[^11] He supports placing sanitary stations at encampments and opposes encampment sweeps and bulldozing. He has also voiced support for Housing First programs.[^11] At an October 6, 2025 mayoral debate, he was asked whether he would ever back evicting an encampment. He answered that encampments of the current kind would not form while he was mayor because of his public health approach to homelessness.[^12] ### Labor Fateh has said he supports creating a labor standards board for the [[City of Minneapolis]].[^13] ### ICE deportations In December 2025, President Donald Trump called Somalis "garbage" and said he did not want any Somali-Americans to remain in the United States. Fateh responded that the remarks left Somali Americans in Minnesota living in fear, with some keeping their passports on them at all times in case ICE apprehended them. He said he personally felt hurt and saddened by the remarks.[^14] ## Personal life Fateh and his wife, Kaltum, live in the Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis. He has a son, born in August 2025. State Senator [[Zaynab Mohamed]] is his sister-in-law.[^15] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Omar Fateh* (revision 1372100954, retrieved 2026-10-26) — lead: birth date, Minnesota Senate District 62, south Minneapolis and Hennepin County, DFL membership. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Fateh [^2]: Wikipedia contributors, *Omar Fateh* (revision 1372100954, retrieved 2026-10-26) — lead: 2025 Minneapolis DFL mayoral endorsement, its revocation by the state party over irregularities, loss to Jacob Frey. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Fateh [^3]: Wikipedia contributors, *Omar Fateh* (revision 1372100954, retrieved 2026-10-26) — "Minnesota Senate": 2020 primary challenge to Jeff Hayden, DSA and Sunrise Movement support, DFL endorsement, August primary win, 89% general-election vote. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Fateh [^4]: Wikipedia contributors, *Omar Fateh* (revision 1372100954, retrieved 2026-10-26) — "Minnesota Senate": sworn in January 5, 2021; partisan control in the first term; 54 bills authored in 2021–22. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Fateh [^5]: Wikipedia contributors, *Omar Fateh* (revision 1372100954, retrieved 2026-10-26) — "Early life, education, and career": birthplace, parents, schooling, move to Minneapolis in 2015. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Fateh [^6]: Wikipedia contributors, *Omar Fateh* (revision 1372100954, retrieved 2026-10-26) — "Elections and campaigns": 2015 Fairfax County School Board race, endorsement, field of nine, eighth-place finish, subsequent city and state employment. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Fateh [^7]: Wikipedia contributors, *Omar Fateh* (revision 1372100954, retrieved 2026-10-26) — "Elections and campaigns": 2018 District 62A DFL primary loss to Hodan Hassan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Fateh [^8]: Wikipedia contributors, *Omar Fateh* (revision 1372100954, retrieved 2026-10-26) — "Minnesota Senate": fentanyl test strip bill and January 2023 Star Tribune report of more than 100,000 strips distributed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Fateh [^9]: Wikipedia contributors, *Omar Fateh* (revision 1372100954, retrieved 2026-10-26) — "Policing and public safety": 2021 ballot initiative, 2025 statements and platform, call to ban MPD cooperation with ICE. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Fateh [^10]: Wikipedia contributors, *Omar Fateh* (revision 1372100954, retrieved 2026-10-26) — "Policing and public safety": "alternative to policing" for 911 calls. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Fateh [^11]: Wikipedia contributors, *Omar Fateh* (revision 1372100954, retrieved 2026-10-26) — "Housing and homelessness": rent stabilization, density, "just cause" eviction, sanitary stations, sweeps, Housing First. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Fateh [^12]: Wikipedia contributors, *Omar Fateh* (revision 1372100954, retrieved 2026-10-26) — "Housing and homelessness": answer at the October 6, 2025 mayoral debate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Fateh [^13]: Wikipedia contributors, *Omar Fateh* (revision 1372100954, retrieved 2026-10-26) — "Labor": labor standards board. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Fateh [^14]: Wikipedia contributors, *Omar Fateh* (revision 1372100954, retrieved 2026-10-26) — "ICE deportations": December 2025 remarks attributed to President Donald Trump and Fateh's response. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Fateh [^15]: Wikipedia contributors, *Omar Fateh* (revision 1372100954, retrieved 2026-10-26) — "Personal life": residence, spouse, son born August 2025, sister-in-law Zaynab Mohamed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Fateh