Rep Ilhan Omar has a new challenger and she is Dalia al-Aqidi, a reputed reporter and former White House correspondent. Al-Aqidi and Omar share several similarities. She has struggled as an immigrant in the land of the free.
Today, she is running for Congress in a race that she claims is a move against what Omar from Somalia represents. Al-Aqidi focuses on Somali immigrants who have struggled as much as she has. "I'm running for Congress because we're not as divided as Ilhan Omar and the far-left would have us believe. I'm running to bring us closer together," she says on her website daliaforcongress.com.
Who is Dalia al-Alqidi?
Al-Aqidi believes in protecting the constitution. She was born in Iraq, but came to America during the Saddam regime and became a US citizen in 1993. She established herself as a political reporter working with several media outlets starting with the 'Voice of America' and traveled around the world covering conflicts in Iraq and Lebanon.
The 51-year-old woman talks about the constant battle with immigration laws that President Donald Trump has been trying to come up with to keep 'dangerous individuals' outside the country. Al-Aqidi believes that the young lawmaker isn't representing the people of downtown Minneapolis to her maximum strength and her campaign has already started to focus on that after moving to the region only a few months back.
Is her war with Ilhan Omar far-fetched?
Al-Aqidi has launched her campaign in a crowded field and being an immigrant, she focuses on the similarities between her and Omar in her campaign. Omar has had constant struggles with insinuations because of her immigrant status that she has used to bolster her support base in her district. She has been working on some of the important issues that America has faced and one of them is the 'Homes for All Act', which tackles homelessness.
She spoke about her work with several homeless people in Minneapolis and said that she also plans on working on several other issues including curbing gang violence. Al-Aqidi says Omar is not fighting for 'real' causes.
