MINNEAPOLIS — U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar is projected to win reelection for Minnesota's 5th Congressional District over GOP challenger Dalia Al-Aqidi, Associated Press reported Tuesday night.
By early Wednesday morning, Omar had garnered 75.2% of the vote with 99% of the votes reported.
In Omar's victory speech, she highlighted her work on immigration, social security and veterans benefits. In her next two-year term, she said she aims to end the use of U.S. weapons in Gaza and Lebanon, cancel student debt and pass Medicare for all.
The 5th Congressional District includes Minneapolis and a number of surrounding suburbs including Brooklyn Center, St. Louis Park and Golden Valley. The last time a Republican candidate carried the district was in 1960.
Omar is a Somali refugee, who made history in 2016 when she became the first Somali American elected to any state legislature. Two years later, she made history when she won her first term in Congress.
She became a leader in the progressive caucus and gained national buzz as a member of “The Squad” – a group of young, newly elected progressives.
Dalia Al-Aqidi is a journalist who fled her home country of Iraq when it was under the rule of Saddam Hussein, her campaign website says. She came to the U.S. in 1993 and has worked as a reporter for three decades.