Minnesota State Representative Ilhan Omar became a major party’s candidate for the state’s 5th District in the United States Congress. Omar won the Democratic Party’s primary election for the area on Tuesday. She is seeking to become the first refugee from Africa to gain a seat in the U.S. Congress. The 35-year-old politician spoke at the University of Minnesota’s Hubert Humphrey School of Public Affairs before Tuesday’s vote. “I am a millennial with student debt,” she said. “And a renter,” she added, someone who is not ready, or cannot yet afford, to buy a home. It was a simple but effective message. She was born in Somalia and wears a hijab on her head. However, Omar said that she was still like the many young, progressive and liberal voters whose support she needs to get elected.
