(CNN) — Ilhan Omar, a progressive state legislator, will win the Democratic primary in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, CNN projects. Backed in her race by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Omar – who came to the US more than two decades ago as a refugee – would become the first Somali-American member of Congress if she wins the seat being left behind by Rep. Keith Ellison, who is running for state attorney general, in November. Omar is also on a path to arrive in Washington, DC, next year with Michigan Democratic House nominee Rashida Tlaib, who is running unopposed in the fall, to become the first Muslim women in Congress. Tlaib campaigned alongside Omar this past weekend, days ahead of the primary. “We started this campaign to prove people are ready and willing to fight for an America that works for all of us. To every staff member, volunteer, donor, and voter, this win is just as much yours as it is mine,” Omar said in a tweet shortly after declaring victory. “Together, we will move our district, state and nation forward.” With the support from the Justice Democrats, the same progressive group that helped bring Ocasio-Cortez into the arena in New York, Omar campaigned on a platform including support for “Medicare for all,” abolishing ICE, tuition-free college and raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. She was also endorsed by Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton and liberal groups like MoveOn and Democracy for America. Omar has been an open critic of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians, calling its government the “apartheid Israeli regime” in a recent tweet, while vigorously denying charges of anti-Semitism, adding that her criticism “is far from hating Jews.” Omar has been faced with Islamophobic attacks, alleging on Facebook in December 2016 that she was harassed in Washington by a cab driver who “called me ISIS and threatened to remove my hijab.” She later filed a formal complaint and an administrative judge in DC found the cab driver guilty of discrimination and offensive language. She will face Republican Jennifer Zielinski, CNN projects, the winner of a three-way GOP primary, in the general election.<doc-sep>A Somali-American former refugee has delivered an emotionally charged victory speech after winning a Democratic primary. Ilhan Omar, who is likely to become the first Somali-American elected to US Congress, made history on Tuesday by winning a seat in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District. The politician garnered national attention just two years ago after becoming the first Somali American elected to a state legislature in Minnesota - unseating a 22-term Democratic incumbent. "In my last race, I talked about what my win would have meant for that eight-year-old girl in that refugee camp,” she told a crowd of supporters after her win. “And today, today, I still think about her and I think about the kind of hope and optimism all of those eight-year-olds around the country and around the world get from seeing your beautiful faces elect and believe in someone like me." “So I humbly thank you. I congratulate you and I ask you, lets continue to celebrate and bring our joy and hope to the campaign trail tomorrow.” Ms Omar’s family fled Somalia when she was just eight years old as civil war ripped apart the country. They spent four years in a camp in Mombasa, Kenya, with tens of thousands of other refugees. The 36-year-old, who is the youngest of seven children, and her family emigrated to America when she was 12 years old. They settled in Minneapolis where she learnt English by watching American TV. (AFP/Getty (AFP/Getty) The mother-of-three also referenced her eight-year-old self when becoming the first Somali-American lawmaker in the US in 2016. "This really was a victory for that eight-year-old in that refugee camp," she said. "This was a victory for the young woman being forced into child marriage. This was a victory for every person that's been told they have limits on their dreams." Minnesota is home to the biggest population of Somalis outside Somalia and Minneapolis has a neighbourhood nicknamed “Little Mogadishu.” Ms Omar won in Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs – a famously left-leaning district. Her primary victory is expected to lead to a win in the November midterm elections and take her to Congress. She will face Republican candidate Jennifer Zeilinski at the election. (Getty Images (Getty Images) "Tonight, we are celebrating because we engaged and empowered our community and we won," Ms Omar said in a statement. "Our campaign staff, our volunteers, and the people of the Fifth Congressional District are the inspiration we need to get up every day and fight for a democracy that guarantees a more just and equitable society." Ms Omar and Rashida Tlaib - a Palestinian American who won a Detroit-area Democratic primary in Michigan last week and is running unopposed in November - are now in the position to become the first two Muslim women to serve in Congress. "I can't wait to walk onto the floor of United States Congress hand in hand with you. So incredibly proud of you.” Ms Tlaib tweeted. A record number of Muslims - at least 90 – have run for political office in the 2018 midterm elections.<doc-sep>After three Minnesota Democrats decided to depart Congress, Tuesday saw crowded primary battles for their open seats — with state Rep. Ilhan Omar continuing her trailblazing ways in a heavily liberal district left vacant by Keith Ellison. Omar, a Somali immigrant who drew national attention two years ago by becoming the first Somali-American elected to a state Legislature, won the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party primary by drawing 48 percent of the vote. “We said our district was ready for a bold vision,” Omar said late Tuesday, while surrounded by supporters who celebrated the victory at Safari Restaurant in Minneapolis. “We said our district was ready for someone who had more courage and clarity to go to Washington.” Margaret Anderson Kelliher, a two-term Democratic House speaker and 2010 candidate for governor, finished with 30 percent of the vote. Ellison’s late decision to run for state attorney general created a void, into which stepped a throng of Democratic candidates vying for the 5th District seat, representing Minneapolis and an inner suburban area so blue that the primary win is likely a ticket to Congress. A Republican has not won the district since 1960. Omar could join Rashida Tlaib of Michigan as the first Muslim women to head to Congress (Ellison was the first Muslim). Last week, Tlaib won a Democratic primary in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District; she will run unopposed in November. In November, Omar will face Republican-endorsed candidate Jennifer Zielinski, an Allina Health employee who lost a bid for a seat on the Minneapolis Park Board last year. She easily beat her two opponents Tuesday by receiving 56 percent of the vote. State Sen. Patricia Torres Ray, who made history in 2006 by becoming the first Latino woman to serve in the Minnesota Senate, finished third in Tuesday’s Democratic primary with 13 percent of the votes cast. Also on the Democratic ballot were Jamal Abdi Abdulahi and state Sen. Bobby Joe Champion, both of whom won 3 percent of the vote, and Frank Nelson Drake (2 percent). 1ST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT Southern Minnesota’s 1st District was deemed up for grabs once Democratic Rep. Tim Walz decided to run for governor. On the Republican side, Jim Hagedorn, who nearly beat Walz in 2016, easily won the primary by receiving 59 percent of the vote — with 648 of 697 precincts reporting — over state Sen. Carla Nelson’s 33 percent. In a two-candidate race on the Democrat side, Iraq War veteran and Obama administration official Dan Feehan from Mankato received 83 percent of the vote over Colin “Coke” Minehart, a restaurant owner from Alden, Minn. 2ND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT Democrat Angie Craig and incumbent Republican Jason Lewis will face off in a rematch this November. Neither had a primary opponent. 3RD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT Eyeing five-term incumbent Rep. Erik Paulsen’s seat is Democrat Dean Phillips, a Deephaven entrepreneur and the heir to the Phillips Distilling fortune. Phillips easily beat Cole Young, a 35-year-old self-described millennial, by receiving 82 percent of the vote. 4TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT Betty McCollum, a nine-term Democrat from St. Paul, won a three-candidate race with 91 percent of the vote. In November, she will face familiar foe Greg Ryan, who ran against McCollum in 2016. 6TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT Republican Tom Emmer received 76 percent of the vote in a three-candidate race and will try for his third term in November, facing off against Democratic Party-endorsed Ian Todd. 7TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT After receiving 73 percent of the vote, Republican-endorsed Dave Hughes will run against incumbent Collin Peterson, a 14-term Democrat from Detroit Lakes. 8TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT Five Democrats in northeastern Minnesota’s 8th District sought to succeed Rep. Rick Nolan, who had planned to retire before he wound up joining Attorney General Lori Swanson’s ticket for governor. It was former state representative and Nolan campaign manager Joe Radinovich who claimed the victory with 43 percent of the vote. He will face President Donald Trump-endorsed Pete Stauber, who received 90 percent of the vote.<doc-sep>
Minnesota state Rep. Ilhan Omar will likely become one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress after winning a heated Democratic primary in Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District on Tuesday. Omar, a 36-year-old Somali refugee who immigrated to the United States as a teenager, beat a packed field of six candidates in the race to fill current Rep. Keith Ellison’s seat. Ellison decided to run for Minnesota attorney general rather than return to Congress; he faced allegations of domestic abuse in the last days of his campaign. Given the district’s partisan makeup (Cook Political Report rates it D+26), Omar is all but assured of being elected to the House in November. She should be joined by Michigan’s Rashida Tlaib as the first Muslim women elected to Congress. Tlaib won last week’s primary to replace disgraced Rep. John Conyers, who resigned after sexual misconduct allegations, in another safe Democratic district. Congress currently has only two lawmakers who identify as Muslim — and both of them, including Ellison, are men. Omar, the first Somali-American Muslim to be elected to the Minnesota legislature or any elected office in the United States, is also part of a historic wave of women looking to clinch higher office this year. Women and people of color are still underrepresented in Congress (20 percent women and 19 percent people of color), but 146 women have won Democratic primaries in 2018. Omar has faced Islamophobic attacks during her campaign from outside conservative media outlets, who have baselessly claimed she was once married to her brother and has ties to terrorists. Laura Loomer — a far-right provocateur and “guerilla journalist” with a history of anti-Muslim activism who says she is investigating Muslim candidates — also crashed a joint campaign event with Tlaib and Omar, yelling questions about Hamas and female genital mutilation. Those attacks are unlikely to have any sway in the general election, though. Covering Minneapolis and some surrounding suburbs, this is Minnesota’s most liberal district. The voters elected Ellison for six terms before he sought the attorney general’s office. The makeup of the district has allowed progressive politics to flourish. Omar ran a lefty platform of Medicare-for-all, a $15 minimum, and tuition-free college. Omar said President Trump’s “politics of fear” motivated her to get in the race. “It is a district that is very much interested in making sure our progressive values are represented, and they know the only way they’ll continue to be represented is if we have people who are not going to just think about getting themselves to Washington, but think about getting other progressives to Washington,” she said. Correction: A previous version of this article described Loomer as “alt-right.” Loomer has distanced herself from parts of the alt-right movement over anti-Semitism, and can be considered part of what’s sometimes known as the “alt-light.”