Wednesday, February 10, 2010
U.S. Rep. John Kline has drawn a challenger for the Republican nomination. The Faribault Daily News reports that Mahamoud Wardereintends to run against the four-term incumbent in the 2nd Congressional District.
“Can you imagine? An anti-war GOP candidate who is an immigrant from Somalia, an African-American, too, and Muslim,” Wardere is quoted as saying.
Wardere previously spent six years as a community liaison in former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman’s office. In 2008 he also got caught up in a controversy over alleged voting improprieties among Somali voters at the Brian Coyle Center in Minneapolis.
Wardere is running as a Republican, but apparently wants to see major changes in the party. For starters, he wants GOP Chairman Michael Steele to resign.
“He failed miserably to lead our party and explain who the GOP leaders are,” Wardere told the Faribault newspaper. “He failed to reach out to Latinos and even African Americans. He must resign.”
Kline already has two Democratic challengers: businessman Dan Powers and former state Rep. Shelley Madore.
Source: Politics in Minnesota