Senator Smith and Attorney General Ellison On Why They’re Supporting Congresswoman Ilhan Omar for Re-election

MINNEAPOLIS—Today, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Senator Tina Smith co-wrote an op-ed in support of Congresswoman Omar’s re-election. You can read the full text of the letter here and below.

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has been a leader, ally, and friend for the Fifth Congressional District. We’ve worked alongside her for over a decade, so we know how effective her leadership is. Whether it’s been working on legislation to stop school-lunch shaming, public housing fire safety, or ending subsidies to the fossil-fuel industry that deceived us about the true causes of climate change, we’ve worked together with Ilhan to put Minnesotans first, and not the wealthy few. There’s no one better to fight for our progressive values than her. Join us in voting for Congresswoman Ilhan Omar on Tuesday.

Ilhan is the first African refugee elected to Congress and her life experience gives her a unique understanding of the challenges that people can face. She escaped war in Somalia and found refuge at a camp in Kenya, where she lived with little food or water. She and her family found a better life when America opened its doors to them. That’s why the value of a helping hand infuses her work to help people every day.

Terry Wiggin, mayor of Hilltop, a city of just under 1000 people, knows this. When he needed to build an emergency storm shelter, he turned to Ilhan. Out of dozens of proposals in her district, she chose Hilltop. She chose the health and safety of the little city with big hearts. Ilhan could have listened to lobbyists or special interests who were pushing for their projects. Hilltop is too small to have lobbyists and had no other place to turn to, and Ilhan delivered for them.

She did the same for our neighbors, Ivan and Erik, who fled Russia where they were attacked, threatened, and later arrested for just loving who they wanted to love and trying their best to live their true, honest selves. Living in a country where there are laws in place banning gender reassignment, they were forced to get a divorce when Erik started transitioning.

When Ivan and Erik made the difficult decision to flee Russia and seek asylum in the United States, they were separated at US customs. Erik found his way to Minnesota, and Ilhan’s office worked round the clock to reunite Ivan with his partner in the Twin Cities. They remarried and celebrated in a small ceremony just two months ago.

That’s the Ilhan we know and have organized alongside for the past decade — always making sure everyone in our community can thrive and live their lives without fear, regardless of who they love, how they pray, the color of their skin, or their political views.

We’ve seen it when she fights for clean air because children in North Minneapolis suffer from high rates of asthma, when she fights to cancel student debt for the single mother in Spring Lake Park who cannot afford to put food on the table and pay her student loan payments, and when she fights hard for seniors in Hilltop to retire with dignity.

Ilhan is the partner we want in Congress because she listens actively, responds genuinely, and works tirelessly to meet our community’s needs. Despite baseless attacks on her, she doesn’t complain: she organizes and she delivers. She keeps fighting for our neighbors who feel forgotten, sidelined, or exhausted by divisive politics in DC, and she comes through.

Every single day, she uses her position to improve the lives of residents across the Fifth District. She’s never forgotten where she came from, or her mandate to bring our residents’ hopes, dreams, and aspirations to the People’s House.

We could not be prouder to call Ilhan Omar our Congresswoman. Join us in voting for her Tuesday, August 13, and sending her back to Congress to keep fighting for us.