Minneapolis neighborhood activist Ilhan Omar beat long-time State Representative Phyllis Kahn in Tuesday’s D-F-L primary, and will likely become the nation’s first Somali-American legislator after the November election. Kahn, first elected in 1972 and tied for longest-serving legislator in Minnesota history, says “the voters have spoken and life will go on”.
Kahn came in last in a three-way race. Omar took 41 percent of the vote, Mohamud Noor 29.6 percent and Kahn 29.4 percent.
MNN’s Bill Werner caught up with Representative Kahn after her defeat:
Two other high-profile state legislators also lost primary contests Tuesday and will not be on the ballot this November. State Representative Tom Hackbarth from Cedar was defeated by challenger Calvin Bahr, 57-to-43 percent. Hackbarth, as chairman of the House Mining and Outdoor Recreation Committee, has been at the center of a number of controversial issues in recent years. Republican State Senator Sean Nienow (NEE-noe) from Cambridge lost in the primary to G-O-P challenger Mark Koran. And long-time Representative Joe Mullery from north Minneapolis was beaten by fellow Democrat Fue Lee, who was born in a refugee camp in Thailand.