Ilhan OmarIlhan Omar

Ilhan believes everyone deserves a safe place to live. She introduced the Homes for All Act, groundbreaking legislation to invest $1 trillion in constructing 12 million new public housing and permanently affordable rental units built to the highest environmental standards.

From the moment she entered Congress, Ilhan has been one of the clearest and most courageous voices fighting for working people, immigrants, peace, racial justice, and democracy — even as she’s faced relentless attacks from the far right, corporate interests, and the political establishment.

Rep. Ilhan Omar represents Minnesota's 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. An experienced Twin Cities policy analyst, organizer, public speaker and advocate, Rep. Omar was sworn into office in January 2019, making her the first African refugee to become a Member of Congress, the first woman of color to represent Minnesota, and one of the first two Muslim-American women elected to Congress.

Born in Somalia, Rep. Omar and her family fled the country's civil war when she was eight. The family spent four years in a refugee camp in Kenya before coming to the United States in 1990s. In 1997, she moved to Minneapolis with her family. As a teenager, Rep. Omar's grandfather inspired her to get involved in politics. Before running for office, she worked as a community educator at the University of Minnesota, was a Policy Fellow at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs and served as a Senior Policy Aide for the Minneapolis City Council.

As a legislator, Rep. Omar is committed to fighting for the shared values of the 5th District, values that put people at the center of our democracy. She plans to focus on tackling many of the issues that she hears about most from her constituents, like investing in education and freeing students from the shackles of debt; ensuring a fair wage for a hard day's work; creating a just immigration system and tackling the existential threat of climate change.

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar wants to prioritize human needs instead of the greed of military industrial complex. “Now is not the time to spend billions of dollars to bolster our defense budget while millions of Americans remain housing and food insecure. I am shocked that this Congress continues to spend over $700 billion on wasteful weapons contracts and Pentagon waste, and then turns around and calls for cuts to programs that help the poor, the elderly and the sick. We should be investing in the American people, not in weapons manufacturers.”

Congressional District 5: Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is the author of the End Polluter Welfare Act, which would eliminate President Trump’s enormous new handouts to the fossil fuel industry contained in the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” along with existing polluter welfare for the fossil fuel industry. She will oppose cuts to the EPA and fight hard to protect the water we all rely on!

On April 9, 2026, the Minnesota DFL Senior Caucus endorsed Rep. Ilhan Omar's candidacy for representative in Congressional District 5. You can view the letter from Chair Kay Hendrikson HERE. Rep. Omar's campaign website is here:https://ilhanomar.com/

Rep. Ilhan Omar represents Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. An experienced Twin Cities policy analyst, organizer, public speaker and advocate, Rep. Omar was sworn into office in January 2019, making her the first African refugee to become a Member of Congress, the first woman of color to represent Minnesota, and one of the first two Muslim-American women elected to Congress.

Born in Somalia, Rep. Omar and her family fled the country’s civil war when she was eight. The family spent four years in a refugee camp in Kenya before coming to the United States in 1990s. In 1997, she moved to Minneapolis with her family. As a teenager, Rep. Omar’s grandfather inspired her to get involved in politics. Before running for office, she worked as a community educator at the University of Minnesota, was a Policy Fellow at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs and served as a Senior Policy Aide for the Minneapolis City Council.

As a legislator, Rep. Omar is committed to fighting for the shared values of the 5th District, values that put people at the center of our democracy. She plans to focus on tackling many of the issues that she hears about most from her constituents, like investing in education and freeing students from the shackles of debt; ensuring a fair wage for a hard day’s work; creating a just immigration system and tackling the existential threat of climate change.