Daisane elected St. Cloud’s first Somali American state lawmaker
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Voters in the politically divided St. Cloud area are sending three DFLers to the Minnesota Capitol next year, including the region’s first Somali American legislator.
DFLer Abdi Daisane won the House District 14A seat, flipping a seat that had been represented by a Republican. He ran unsuccessfully for the same seat in 2024, but lost to state Rep. Bernie Perryman.
Daisane is a small business owner who came to the U.S. more than 15 years ago. He defeated Republican Mike Conway, the current St. Cloud City Council president, with about 52 percent of the vote.
This year, Perryman tried but failed to unseat DFLer state Sen. Aric Putnam. Instead, Putnam won his third term representing Senate District 14, which includes St. Cloud, Waite Park, St. Joseph, St. Augusta and Sauk Rapids.
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Putnam, a communications professor at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University, garnered about 56 percent of the vote.
St. Cloud-area voters also elected a DFLer to the other House seat, District 14B. Former legislator Zach Dorholt won with about 57 percent against Republican Sue Ek.
Dorholt is a mental health professional and a current member of the St. Cloud school board. He was elected to the Minnesota House in 2012 and served one term.
The District 14B House seat was left vacant by DFL Rep. Dan Wolgamott, who made an unsuccessful bid for state auditor.
