When Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) delivered her victory speech Tuesday night to a crowd of Somalis, her supporters must have felt right at home.
Omar, whose real name is “Ilhan Nur Said Elmi,” according to the Department of Justice, decided to give her victory address in Somali, her native language. The speech followed her lopsided 76.5% to 16.2% win over opponent Republican John Nagel to reclaim her Minnesota seat for the fifth straight time.
Video shows Omar and her supporters dancing at her election party in a Minneapolis mall, and then pans to Omar speaking to the crowd in Somali.
On X, Omar posted a video of another post-election speech — in English — with the caption: “Minnesota, thank you for welcoming my family with open arms when we arrived here as refugees.”
“This is what it looks like when we lead with compassion, empathy, and courage. This is what it looks like when you give a damn about your neighbors. And this is what it looks like when you go out and vote your values,” she said. “Because when this administration came for Minnesotans, we knew that we could respond by showing up and protecting our neighbors. But we also knew that when Election Day came, that we were going to provide an answer by directly rejecting them in the ballot box.”
“Tonight we get to celebrate our win because we worked for this win. And tomorrow we get to help make our trifecta work for us in creating progress,” she added.
Omar’s win comes despite a slew of controversy over her immigration status and suspicions that she committed immigration fraud by marrying her brother so he could receive permanent residency. Last month, federal agents raided her Washington, D.C., home in a search conducted by the Department of Homeland Security. The federal investigation sought to build a case to revoke her U.S. citizenship and ultimately deport her, according to The Wall Street Journal.
None of this seemed to matter in the overwhelmingly Democrat 5th Congressional District, which is home to one of the country’s largest Somali communities and where Omar has served as a representative since 2019.
Following the results on Election Day, a record-breaking seven Muslims will be serving in Congress, including Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who will be the first Muslim in the U.S. Senate. Like Omar, El-Sayed also used foreign words during his victory speech: “My name is Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed. … Tonight we can turn that inshallah into alhamdulillah.”
In Arabic, inshallah means “God willing” and alhamdulillah means “Praise be to God.”
Abdul El-Sayed: “Up until right about now, you might’ve noticed I always say inshallah… whenever the outcome of this race was mentioned, but tonight we can turn that inshallah into a Alhamdulillah” https://t.co/aAkq1CH8JJ
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) November 4, 2026
El-Sayed’s campaign was also riddled with scrutiny for his ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, including his past support for the Muslim Brotherhood purging the media and police in Egypt.
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