St. Cloud elects first Somali American lawmaker

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Abdi Daisane, a Somali American business owner, defeated Republican Mike Conway, the current St. Cloud City Council president. 

Voters in the politically divided St. Cloud area are sending three DFLers to the Minnesota Capitol next year, including the region’s first Somali American legislator.

DFLer Abdi Daisane won the House District 14A seat, flipping a seat that had been represented by a Republican. He ran unsuccessfully for the same seat in 2024, but lost to state Rep. Bernie Perryman.

Daisane is a small business owner who came to the U.S. more than 15 years ago. He defeated Republican Mike Conway, the current St. Cloud City Council president, with about 52 percent of the vote.

This year, Perryman tried but failed to unseat DFLer state Sen. Aric Putnam. Instead, Putnam won his third term representing Senate District 14, which includes St. Cloud, Waite Park, St. Joseph, St. Augusta and Sauk Rapids....