# Zaynab Mohamed *Minnesota state senator (DFL) representing District 63* Zaynab M. Mohamed (born May 3, 1997) is a [[Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party]] (DFL) politician. She has held the District 63 seat in the [[Minnesota Senate]] since 2023. The district takes in southeast [[Minneapolis]].[^1] Mohamed was born in Somalia and has lived in Minneapolis since age nine. She worked in advocacy and as a city council aide before her 2022 election. She, [[Erin Maye Quade]] and [[Clare Oumou Verbeten]] were the first Black women elected to the state Senate. The Wikipedia article on her also records her as the youngest woman elected to the Legislature.[^1] Her tenure overlaps with a lawsuit against the State that the [[United States Department of Justice]] announced on January 14, 2026, in release No. 26-21. The cited sources do not record any vote or statement by Mohamed on that matter.[^2] ## Early life and education At age nine, Mohamed moved with her family from Somalia to the Powderhorn neighborhood of Minneapolis, where she was raised.[^1] She completed a human resources degree at the [[University of Minnesota]] in 2019.[^1] ## Career ### Pre-campaign political activity Her early political work included an internship with Ayada Leads, a nonprofit that works to bring black immigrant women into political participation.[^1] As community advocacy manager at the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Minnesota, she pressed for public safety legislation, including measures against no-knock warrants.[^1] In 2020 she was a full-time volunteer on [[Omar Fateh]]'s state Senate campaign, which unseated incumbent Jeff Hayden. From January 2022 she was a policy aide to Jason Chavez of the Minneapolis City Council.[^1] ### Minnesota State Senate Patricia Torres Ray, who held District 63, chose not to run again in 2022. Mohamed launched a campaign after discussions with her and with other organizers, and Torres Ray endorsed her.[^1] Mohamed's platform centered on a $15 statewide minimum wage, universal health care and changes to public safety.[^1] She won the DFL nomination over Todd Scott in the primary. She then defeated the Republican candidate, Shawn Holster, in the general election.[^1] Her election, together with those of Maye Quade and Oumou Verbeten, made the three the first Black women elected to the Minnesota Senate.[^1] On January 14, 2026, during her term, the Department of Justice's Office of Public Affairs issued release No. 26-21, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*. The release announced a federal suit and, in its title, applied the term "Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime" to the State's apparatus.[^2] Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^2] The cited release, as excerpted in the record, gives neither a docket nor a current status for the case. The sources cited here record no vote, sponsorship or statement by Mohamed bearing on the instruments at issue.[^2] ## Personal life Mohamed has spent much of her life in south Minneapolis.[^1] Fateh, also a state senator, is her brother-in-law.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Zaynab Mohamed* (revision 1365806382, retrieved 26 October 2026) — birth date, upbringing, education, pre-campaign career, 2022 election, Senate firsts and family relationship. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaynab_Mohamed [^2]: 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 (14 January 2026) — announces the lawsuit against Minnesota and Attorney General Pamela Bondi's certification of the case as a matter of general public importance. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime