A first for St. Cloud as Somali-American man elected to Legislature

This story comes to you from The Minnesota Star Tribune through a partnership with Sahan Journal. ST. CLOUD – Central Minnesota voters are sending the region’s first Somali-American legislator to the State Capitol next year, after Democrat Abdi Daisane flipped a state House seat long held by Republicans. Daisane, 38, was elected to the House District 14A seat with 52% of the vote on Tuesday. Republicans had held the turf since at least 2002, through several rounds of redistricting. “It is an incredible victory because we flipped a seat,” Daisane said Thursday. “But in addition to that, it’s a message of its own because I’m everything that a lot of politicians are campaigning against these days: I’m Somali-American. I’m a Muslim. I’m Black. I’m an immigrant. Daisane’s win is notable because St. Cloud has long had the stigma of being unwelcoming — even earning the nickname “White Cloud” — despite growing increasingly diverse over the last two decades.

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