Somali American Democrat Abdi Daisane wins Minnesota State house election

Mike Conway (left) listens to Abdi Daisane (right) answer a question from the audience during the St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce's forum for District 14 House candidates on Sept. 23.Sarah d'Uscio / For St. Cloud LIVE

CLOUD, Minn (HOL) — Somali American Democrat Abdi Daisane won election to the Minnesota House on Tuesday, defeating Republican Mike Conway and flipping a Republican-held district in the St. Cloud area.

With all 18 precincts reporting, unofficial results showed Daisane with 9,164 votes, or 51.6%, compared with Conway’s 8,570 votes, or 48.3%, a margin of 594 votes.

“It feels good to lose and then come back and win,” Daisane told St. Cloud LIVE at an election-night gathering with supporters. “Persistence pays off; we’ve knocked on more doors, talked to more people and in return have related to more people. ... People want change.”

Daisane was making his second consecutive bid for the District 14A seat after losing to Republican Rep. Bernie Perryman in 2024.

The seat became open after Perryman opted against seeking a third House term and instead challenged Democratic state Sen. Aric Putnam in Senate District 14.

Daisane advanced to the general election after winning the Democratic-Farmer-Labor primary in August with 62.52% of the vote, defeating St. John’s University professor Paul R.F. Schumacher, according to Minnesota Secretary of State results. Conway won the Republican primary with 62.25%.

District 14A includes parts of St. Cloud and surrounding communities and had been represented by a Republican. The broader St. Cloud area has produced closely contested races in recent elections, and President Donald Trump carried the district in 2024, according to local election reporting.

During the campaign, Daisane focused on affordability, small businesses and government accountability. In a September debate, he pledged not to raise taxes on working families, seniors and struggling small businesses while saying wealthy individuals and large corporations should not receive the same commitment.

His victory came the same night that another prominent Somali American Democrat, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, won a fifth term in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District.

With 216 of 217 precincts reporting, Omar had 261,920 votes, or 76.45%, compared with Republican John Nagel’s 55,698 votes, or 16.26%. Independent candidate DeVelle L. Jackson had just over 7%, according to unofficial Minnesota Secretary of State results.

Omar, who was born in Somalia and came to the United States as a refugee, has represented the Minneapolis-area district since 2019. She became the first Somali American elected to the U.S. Congress when she won her first term in 2018.