Omar Fateh

Omar Mahmood Fateh, is a Minnesota 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 south Minneapolis in Hennepin County. Fateh is the first Somali American and Muslim to serve in the Minnesota Senate. Early life and education Fateh was born in Washington, D.C., and is the son of immigrants from Somalia. He graduated from Falls Church High School and earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from George Mason University. Minnesota Senate Fateh was an unsuccessful candidate for District 62A of the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2018. In 2020, he announced a primary challenge to incumbent Senator Jeff Hayden. A self-declared democratic socialist, Fateh received support from groups such as the Democratic Socialists of America and the Sunrise Movement. He also received the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party's endorsement. Fateh defeated Hayden in the August primary, 54% to 45%, and was elected to the Minnesota Senate with 88.99% of the vote in the general election. First Senate term Fateh was sworn into the Minnesota legislature on Jan 5, 2021. During his first term, the Senate was under Republican control, while the DFL controlled the House and governor's office. 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. In January 2023, the Star Tribune reported that since legalization, community organizations and nonprofits have given away more than 100,000 strips, and cited evidence from surveys demonstrating that the use of the strips changed user behavior, including that 89% of users "took overdose-prevention measures once they discovered fentanyl".