"The two began to map out a strategy. Gilbert-Pederson helped her forge relationships with many of the environmental, LGBTQ, civil rights and labor groups whose support Omar would need to win in a statehouse district that’s about 60 percent white. Her current congressional district, which encompasses most of Minneapolis, is about 70 percent white.
Each week, Omar and Gilbert-Pederson arranged meetings with two to three activist leaders. She courted older peace-and-justice hippies and was a regular presence at the University of Minnesota, where she worked to mobilize students who didn’t normally vote but might be drawn to a young candidate who could speak Somali and quote rapper Tupac Shakur. She showed up at Black Lives Matter protests that swept through the city after the shootings of Jamar Clark in November 2015 and Philando Castile the following year.
Omar won the primary in August 2016, all but guaranteeing her election. Three days before the general election, Donald Trump flew into Minneapolis and vowed to halt the influx of “terror prone” Somali refugees into the country.
“How stupid are our leaders? How stupid are they to allow this to happen?” Trump shouted to the crowd. “You’ve suffered enough, Minnesota!”
| | Why Trump warned about ‘Somali refugees’ — and why it could backfirehttps://www.facebook.com/wpjennajohnson Trump risked doing further damage to his image in the political middle and left with his latest remarks. |
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