Samakab Hussein

Hussein came to the United States from Somalia when he was 14. He received his bachelor's degree in business and accounting from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, and a M.A.P.L. in advocacy and political leadership from Metropolitan State University in 2023.^[1]

In 2015, Hussein unsuccessfully challenged Ward 1 Saint Paul city councilor Dai Thao.^[3] Thao challenged many of Hussein's delegates, saying that they lived in Minneapolis, not Saint Paul.^[4] Hussein's campaign manager called the claims "absolutely baseless".^[4] The DFL endorsing convention lasted 10 hours and ended with no endorsement after neither candidate reached the 60% delegate threshold.^[5]

In 2016, Hussein was a delegate for Hillary Clinton in Minnesota's delegation to the 2016 Democratic National Convention. The Minnesota delegation had the largest number of Muslim and Somali delegates at the convention.^[6]

Hussein supported former city council member and BMO Harris Bank senior vice president Pat Harris's 2017 Saint Paul mayoral campaign.^[7]

Hussein was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2022. He first ran after redistricting and after six-term DFL incumbent Rena Moran announced she would run for Ramsey County Commissioner.^[1] He is the first Somali-American to represent St. Paul in the Minnesota Legislature.^[1]

Hussein is vice chair of the Legacy Finance Committee and serves on the Capital Investment, Housing Finance and Policy, and Labor and Industry Finance and Policy Committees.^[1]

Hussein supported legislation that would have guaranteed rideshare drivers for companies like Uber and Lyft wage increases, employment protections and better insurance coverage.^[8] The bill passed both chambers of the legislature, but was vetoed by Governor Tim Walz on May 25, 2023.^[9]

Hussein joined a group of four Muslim legislators who condemned a Star Tribune editorial cartoon they called racist and Islamophobic. Star Tribune CEO and publisher Steve Grove apologized for the cartoon.^[10] In the aftermath of a suspected arson at a Saint Paul mosque, Hussein said he would push legislators to hold the offenders accountable and called for solidarity with the Muslim community.^[11][12]