Minneapolis may be getting its own version of New York Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. State Sen. Omar Fateh, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist and the first Somali American and Muslim to serve in the Minnesota Senate, is running for mayor of Minneapolis on a platform of pro-illegal immigration, anti-police, and anti-Israel policies.
Fateh (D), who once accused Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) of white supremacy for opposing taxpayer-funded college for illegal aliens, is running for mayor of Minneapolis. He has advanced far-left legislation, including a proposal to provide free college tuition to households earning under $80,000 a year, regardless of their documentation status, which he defended as necessary to expand opportunities for “all Minnesotans.”
In a campaign video posted to X, Fateh unveiled a platform echoing New York-style socialism as he vowed to “protect our city from a hostile White House” and block local cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
“Protecting all of our communities from Donald Trump means not letting MPD interact with ICE, whether it’s for an immigration raid or not,” Fateh remarked. “Our residents deserve a mayor that will stand up to Donald Trump and say ‘No, not in our community.’”
Fateh’s campaign also calls for implementing carbon fees approved by the City Council, investing in programs to prioritize the transition of the city’s vehicle fleet to electric vehicles, and expanding “alternative” public safety initiatives like the Behavioral Crisis Response (BCR) team, which provides non-police responses in certain emergency situations.
Fateh also pledged to raise the city’s minimum wage to $20 per hour by 2028 and proposed lobbying the State of Minnesota to allow Minneapolis to implement a local income tax aimed at higher earners. “I will lobby the State of Minnesota to allow the City of Minneapolis to institute a local option income tax to ensure the wealthy pay their fair share,” his campaign website reads.
In 2022, a campaign volunteer for Fateh’s primary bid, Muse Mohamud Mohamed, was convicted of lying to a grand jury during a voter fraud investigation. Mohamed falsely claimed he had submitted absentee ballots on behalf of three voters at their request, but prosecutors presented evidence that the individuals had neither authorized him to do so nor knew who he was.
Fateh responded to the conviction by saying he was “troubled by this conviction” and expressed a continued commitment to “organizing and governing to strengthen a fair and free democracy.”
In March 2024, Fateh joined other progressive Democrats in casting a protest vote against President Joe Biden in Minnesota’s Super Tuesday primary. He said his “uncommitted” vote was a “warning to the Biden administration” over its support for Israel in the war against Hamas, stating that “unless they are to take immediate and dramatic action to stop Israel from continuing the genocide, they cannot expect support from progressives.”
Some of the “uncommitted” vote in Minneapolis has been attributed to the city’s sizable Somali Muslim population, which has been a key constituency for Fateh. In one promotional video directed at Somali voters, the only English-language phrase that Fateh used other than his congressional district was “rental assistance program.”
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