Donald Trump has denigrated Muslims and time stop church sex videosimmigrants throughout his presidential campaign. So it's all the more remarkable that Minnesotans just elected the nation's first Somali-American legislator.
Ilhan Omar, a 34-year-old Muslim activist in Minneapolis, won a commanding victory in the Minnesota House race on Tuesday.
SEE ALSO: This woman just became one of the most important players in the Senate"My neighbors, and everyone here in this room, represent what we as a nation want to be: united in our diversity," Omar said in her prepared remarks.
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Omar escaped the Somali civil war when she was 8 years old and spent four years in a Kenyan refugee camp. She immigrated to the United States as a preteen, knowing little English and living with her family in the Cedar-Riverside area of Minneapolis, the Star Tribunereported.
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable "Long time residents, East African immigrants and students -- we came together and engaged in the political progress," Omar said. "We talked about the issues that concern us and we connected on the future we want to create."
Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, recently tried to earn Minnesotans' favor by playing to their presumed fears of Somali immigrants. At a campaign event on Sunday, Trump warned of "very large numbers" of Somalis slipping into the state "without your knowledge."
Earlier in his campaign, Trump called for banning Muslims from entering the United States, citing terrorism concerns. In July, be belittled the parents of a slain Muslim soldier who denounced Trump at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable But Trump's brand of xenophobia and Islamophobia didn't fly tonight in Minneapolis.
"So many people tried to divide us during this election, but Omar worked tirelessly to bring us together," state Sen. Patricia Torres Ray, a Minnesota Democrat, said in a press release.
"Having another woman of color representing us is so important and I welcome her to the Capitol with open arms," the senator said.
Omar, an activist and mother of three children, most recently served as director of policy initiatives at Women Organizing Women, a group dedicated to pushing East African women to take on leadership roles in their communities.
In her remarks, Omar said she would continue such efforts. "We will continue to build a more prosperous and equitable district -- state, and nation -- where each and every one of us has opportunities to thrive and move forward together."