Re: The States: Why does Minnesota wanna be Kansas?
Here's an overview of the 'Minneapolis+' 5th Congressional district DFL candidates - replacing Keith Ellison. I didn't know anything about them...but am posting this before I head over to vote:
Margaret Anderson Kelliher
Former House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher is the biggest name in the race. The Mankato native spent 12 years in the state legislature, and currently heads the Minnesota High Tech Association. In 2008, she pushed through the transportation funding bill over Governor Pawlenty's veto, by enlisting the help of six suburban Republican members. Two years later, Kelliher won the DFL party's endorsement for governor, but eventually lost the nomination to Mark Dayton in the primary.
Rep. Ilhan Omar
Rep. Ilhan Omar of southeast Minneapolis has captured national attention since 2016, when she unseated 44-year incumbent Phyllis Kahn to become the first Somali refugee elected to any state legislature. Omar arrived in the United States at age 12, and worked in a variety of private and public sector jobs before running for office. She asserts her story uniquely positions her to take on the rhetoric and policies emanating from the Trump White House.
Sen. Patricia Torres Ray
Sen. Patricia Torres Ray is a native of Colombia who worked as a Guardian ad litem, a state ombudsperson for families and a child services administrator for the Minn. Dept. of Human Services before entering politics. She has spent the past 12 years in the Minnesota Senate, representing southeast Minneapolis.
Jamal Abdulahi
Jamal Abdulahi has played a key role as a political organizer in the Somali community. But as an electrical engineer by profession, he worked on fighter jet computer systems for defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin. That's why he felt especially wronged when then-candidate Donald Trump appeared to demonize Somali immigrants in his only campaign rally in Minnesota in 2016.
All four Democrats in the race support abolishing ICE and replacing it with another agency. They also back universal background checks for firearms, and would take part in attempts to impeach President Trump. They also envision widening access to health care by moving away from the current private insurance model.
Frank Drake
None of those ideas sound good to Frank Drake, an Edina real estate agent who's in the DFL primary this year, after running as a Republican in 2016.
"I'm going to be the first inner city congressman that will allow -- that will work with this president, you don't have to like him but you can just be neutral with the federal government," he said. Drake believes the United States should stop sending troops to conflicts in the Middle East, and he's not a big fan of President Trump's proposed border wall with Mexico. But he said Minnesota could benefit from it.
Disclaimer: I'm not voting for Drake.
