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When Ilhan Omar won Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District in the 2018 midterms by 56 points, she entered the House with a battery of firsts, becoming the first Somali-American, the first naturalized citizen from Africa, the first nonwhite woman from Minnesota, and, along with Rashida Tlaib, the first Muslim woman to serve in Congress. In 2020, Omar will reportedly be challenged by one of the first QAnon candidates running for federal office, Danielle Stella.
According to her website, Stella, a “special education needs professional,” did not “hold prior aspirations to run for political office,” but was inspired to challenge Omar because of the “lack of honorable representation for Minnesota’s fifth congressional district,” which includes Minneapolis and some of its suburbs. According to a report from Right Wing Watch, Stella has expressed support for the far-right and increasingly crowd-sourced QAnon conspiracy.
The Republican candidate has used the hashtag #WWG1WGA — “where we go one we go all” — popularized by QAnon followers, interacts with QAnon supporters online and recently posted a picture of herself wearing a Qnecklace. More definitive evidence came when Right Wing Watch’s Jared Holt emailed Stella’s campaign website and was “answered by someone calling themselves Heather, who said she was an unpaid communications volunteer on Stella’s campaign who was forwarded our inquiry. Heather told us via email that she wanted to make clear that Stella ‘stands 100% behind the principles of patriotism, unity/inclusiveness (WWG1WGA!) and love for country that Qanon promotes.’”
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