Democrat Ilhan Omar became the first Somali-American Muslim elected to Congress Tuesday night after winning her state House race in Minnesota. Omar, 34, a survivor of the Somali civil war and a refugee, immigrated to the U.S. with her family when she was 12 years old. Though this is her first elected office, Omar, who wears a hijab, is also the director of policy at Women Organizing Women Network.
"[Omar's victory] says something about the future of Minnesota, and what it means to be a Minnesotan," Minnesota House Minority Leader Paul Thissen told the Star Tribune.
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