Rep. Ilhan Omar won reelection Tuesday in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, despite facing federal scrutiny over her immigration history and financial disclosures. The district is among the most reliably Democratic in the country, and Omar was projected to defeat Republican John Nagel, a former state trooper with 30 years of service.
Omar, a Somali-born Democrat, has represented the district since 2019. Her first election made her one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress.
The victory comes as a separate legal fight may be taking shape. On Oct. 12, federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations searched Omar’s Washington home. The investigation reportedly concerns whether Omar or her father made false statements on immigration paperwork connected to her citizenship application. Agents seized her phone, passport and computer, and collected her DNA.
Omar’s sister, Sahra Noor, spoke voluntarily with investigators in the days after the search. Court documents filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington referred to the congresswoman as “Ilhan Omar Nur Said Elmi, a/k/a Ilhan Omar.” That wording has revived allegations about her 2009 marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, a British citizen, and claims that he is her brother. Some sources have also questioned whether Omar’s name is her legal name.
The allegations have circulated for years. A federal inquiry into the claims began in 2016 and involved the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. A source said it was closed in 2021, during the Biden administration.
Omar has denied wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime. She has also accused President Donald Trump of targeting her for political reasons, saying he has an “unhealthy and creepy obsession” with her. In a recent interview, she argued that her identity as a woman, immigrant, refugee and Muslim who wears a hijab makes her a target for Trump and Republicans, but said she would not be intimidated into silence.
Her spokesperson, Jackie Rogers, has rejected the marriage allegations as a baseless political smear, and criticized media coverage for repeating them.
The search took place during the final month of the midterm campaign. Omar returned to Minnesota, voted and met with members of the Somali community at a mall in Minneapolis. As the controversy grew, she also appealed online for donations to help cover the cost of fighting the investigations.
The week before the election, Omar campaigned in Minneapolis with left-wing streamer Hasan Piker.
