Zaynab Mohamed dismissed advice that she was given about being too young to run for the Minnesota Senate. It paid off. And on Jan 3, she was sworn in. And she couldn’t stop smiling.
“Today was such an exciting and humbling day for me,” Zaynab posted on Instagram. “I’m eager to deliver for our beloved south Minneapolis – thank you for placing your trust in me.”
Zaynab was surrounded by her family, her imam, and other supporters. Lt Governor Peggy Flanagan stated that this is “another step towards looking more and more like Minnesota,” since there’s a greater percentage of white Minnesota legislators than the percentage of Minnesota residents.
In addition to the racial disparity, Zaynab is narrowing the gap for women, Muslims, and Gen-Zs in the Senate. She may be a new beacon of hope for many aspiring politicians from all sorts of backgrounds.
Zaynab believes that the youth should be more active in politics. “We are all collectively showing up because we’re so tired of waiting on people to do the right thing that we’re taking power into our own hands,” Zaynab said.
Zaynab was only 24 years old when she announced her candidacy for the state Senate. And less than a year later, she was celebrating her historic win last November.
Some of the issues Zaynab plans to address are reproductive rights, housing, and economic development. She’s also vouching for access to driver’s licenses for all. For now, if you don’t have legal immigration status, you can’t have a driver’s license.
Zaynab is originally from Somalia and migrated to Minnesota when she was 9 years old. She is the first Muslim woman senator in Minnesota. She now joins Senator Omar Fateh who was the first Somali American in the Senate.