She is a member of the Democratic Party. Her congressional district includes all of Minneapolis and some of its first-ring suburbs. A frequent critic of Israel, Omar supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions BDS movement and has denounced Israel's settlement policies and military campaigns in the occupied Palestinian territories , as well as the influence of pro-Israel lobbies in American politics.
She is also one of the first two Muslim women along with Rashida Tlaib to serve in Congress. President Donald Trump , and has received several death threats. Omar was born in Mogadishu , Somalia, on October 4, , [ 17 ] [ 18 ] and spent her early years in Baidoa , Somalia. Her father, Nur Omar Mohamed, an ethnic Somali from the Majeerteen clan of Northeastern Somalia , [ 21 ] was a colonel in the Somali army under Siad Barre , served with distinction in the Ogaden War between Somalia and Ethiopia, and also worked as a teacher trainer.
Omar's family secured asylum in the U. She recalls gum being pressed into her hijab, being pushed down stairs, and physical taunts while she was changing for gym class. Omar attended Thomas Edison High School , from which she graduated in , and volunteered as a student organizer. Omar began her professional career as a community nutrition educator at the University of Minnesota , working in that capacity from to in the Greater Minneapolis—Saint Paul area.
In , she served as campaign manager for Kari Dziedzic 's reelection campaign for the Minnesota State Senate. Between and , she was a child nutrition outreach coordinator at the Minnesota Department of Education. After Johnson was elected, she served as his senior policy aide from to In late August, Askar announced his withdrawal from the campaign. In , Republican state representative Steve Drazkowski publicly accused Omar of campaign finance violations, [ 18 ] claiming that she used campaign funds to pay a divorce lawyer, and that her acceptance of speaking fees from public colleges violated Minnesota House rules.
Omar responded that the attorney's fees were not personal but campaign-related; she offered to return the speaking fees. Unlike some states, Minnesota does not recognize common law marriage , and so such a joint filing is not legally permitted. But experts have said that if the taxpayer files a correction within three years, as Omar's attorney and accountants did in , then there are normally no further consequences, and the Internal Revenue Service is unlikely to pursue punitive measures unless there is a large discrepancy or fraudulent intent.
