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Omar Fateh
American politician (born 1990) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Omar Mahmood Fateh (/ˈfɑːteɪ/ FAH-tay;[1] born April 19, 1990) is an American politician and a member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), he represents District 62, which includes parts of southwest Minneapolis in Hennepin County. Fateh is the first Somali American and Muslim to serve in the Minnesota Senate.[2] He was the DFL-endorsed candidate in the 2025 Minneapolis mayoral election until the party revoked the endorsement.[3]
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Early life, education, and career
Fateh was born in Washington, D.C.,[4] to immigrant parents from Somalia.[5] He graduated from Falls Church High School and earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from George Mason University.[6] Fateh spent summer breaks in Minneapolis as a child.[7]
Fateh ran for a school board seat in northern Virginia in 2015. He moved to Minneapolis shortly after, where he worked in multiple government positions, including a nonpartisan job with the city in voter outreach.[2] He ran as a member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) for District 62A of the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2018, losing the DFL primary to Hodan Hassan.[8]
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Minnesota Senate
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Perspective
In 2020, Fateh announced a primary challenge to incumbent Senator Jeff Hayden. A self-declared democratic socialist, he received support from groups such as the Democratic Socialists of America and the Sunrise Movement.[9] He also received the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party's endorsement.[10] Fateh defeated Hayden in the August primary, 54% to 45%,[11] and was elected to the Minnesota Senate with 89% of the vote in the general election.[12]
Fateh was sworn into the Minnesota legislature on January 5, 2021. During his first term, the Senate was under Republican control, while the DFL controlled the House and governor's office.[13] Fateh authored 54 bills during the 2021–22 session, including a bill to exempt fentanyl test strips from being considered drug paraphernalia, which was passed and signed into law despite the divided government.[14] In January 2023, the Star Tribune reported that since legalization, community organizations and nonprofits had given away more than 100,000 strips, and cited evidence from surveys demonstrating that the strips changed user behavior, noting that 89% of users "took overdose-prevention measures once they discovered fentanyl".[15]
In 2022, Fateh defeated a challenger in the August 9 DFL primary, winning every precinct.[16] He then defeated Republican nominee Andrew Schmitz in the November general election with over 90% of the vote.[17] In 2022, Democrats won a "trifecta", taking control of the Senate, House, and governor's office.[18] Fateh was appointed chair of the Senate Higher Education committee and vice chair of the Senate Human Services Committee.[19]
Fateh's higher education bill included tuition-free public colleges and universities and tribal colleges for students from families whose income is less than $80,000 a year.[20] It also included an increase to Hunger Free Campus grants,[21] emergency assistance grants.[22]
Fateh was the chief Senate author of a bill to provide minimum wages and worker protections for drivers for rideshare companies such as Uber and Lyft. The Minnesota Uber and Lyft Drivers Association (MULDA) supported the bill. It had bipartisan support and passed the House and Senate, but was vetoed by Governor Tim Walz.[23] Fateh worked on a revised form of the legislation for the 2024 session, which passed with Walz's support. The minimum wage went into effect in late 2024.[24]
In 2022, Fateh returned $11,000 in campaign donations linked to the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, which was federally investigated for a $250 million fraud scheme. Fateh had previously defended the organization, accusing state agencies of targeting immigrant-owned businesses, then reversed his stance after federal raids began. He later expressed frustration that "providers were lying" to him.[25][26]
Also in 2022, Fateh faced a State Senate ethics investigation for failing to disclose $1,000 his campaign paid for advertisements to Somali TV Minnesota, a YouTube channel. A second complaint was related to the perjury conviction of Muse Mohamed, Fateh's brother-in-law and a volunteer on his 2020 campaign; a federal jury convicted Muse in May of lying to a federal grand jury about his handling of three absentee ballots for Fateh's campaign.[27] The ethics committee unanimously dismissed both complaints against Fateh, finding that the undisclosed advertising expense was outside the ethics committee's scope and referring it to the campaign finance board.[28] Fateh was also ordered to attend campaign finance training.[27]
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Minneapolis mayoral election
On November 20, 2024, Fateh declared his candidacy for mayor of Minneapolis in the 2025 election.[29]
During the campaign, Fateh has been the subject of Islamophobic and racially motivated harassment, beginning with statements by right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk.[4][30] Local politicians, including his opponents in the mayoral election, responded in Fateh's defense.[31]
On July 19, 2025, the Minneapolis DFL endorsed Fateh over incumbent mayor Jacob Frey.[32] On August 21, the state DFL revoked Fateh's endorsement, due to alleged failures in the Minneapolis convention's voting process.[33][34] Fateh responded, "Twenty-eight party insiders voted to take away our endorsement behind closed doors. This group was composed of non-Minneapolis residents, Mayor Frey supporters, and even donors."[35][36]
Political views
Policing and public safety
Fateh supported a 2021 ballot initiative aimed at replacing the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) with a Department of Public Safety, a measure that failed to pass.[37] He has said that replacing the MPD "isn't on the table" in 2025, and his 2025 platform includes an increase in public safety resources.[38] Fateh has also publicly called for a ban on MPD's cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.[39]
Housing and homelessness
Fateh has expressed support for rent stabilization[40] and increased housing density.[41]
Fateh's position on homelessness includes a "just cause" eviction policy, limiting landlords' reasons for evictions; he has said, "the largest contributor to homelessness is evictions". He supports sanitary stations at encampment sites and opposes homeless encampment sweeps.[41]
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Personal life
Fateh lives in Minneapolis's Phillips neighborhood[42] with his wife, Kaltum.[43] His sister-in-law is Minnesota State Senator Zaynab Mohamed.[44] He has a son, born in August 2025.[43]
Electoral history
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Notes
See also
References
External links
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