St. Cloud daycare owner Abdi Daisane made history earlier this month by winning a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives, becoming the first Somali lawmaker to represent central Minnesota.
But Alpha News has learned that just five years earlier, he was pursuing a seat in another nation’s legislature — more than 8,000 miles away in his East African homeland.
According to an English translation of a October 2021 campaign video published by Jubbaland TV, Daisane, speaking directly to the camera, says, “I am a candidate for Member of Parliament in the House of the People of the Federal Republic of Somalia.”
He continues, saying, “I am a Somali citizen hailing from Jubbaland. I was born in the nation’s capital, Mogadishu, in 1988,” according to the translation.
Jubbaland is one of the federal states that exist within Somalia.
While his political ambitions in Somalia appear to have ended in defeat, Daisane found electoral success in America five years later, defeating Republican Mike Conway last week and flipping what was a Republican-held, St. Cloud-area seat in the Minnesota House.
A parliamentary campaign in Somalia
An August 2021 Somali-language Facebook post shows Daisane arriving at an airport in Kismayo, Somalia, the largest city in Jubbaland. According to Facebook’s English translation of that post, Daisane is identified as a candidate for a seat in Somalia’s parliament.
Another Facebook video shows Daisane being welcomed at the airport by a large gathering, and another Somali-language Facebook post tags Daisane in a post about his arrival.
In the October 2021 Jubbaland TV video, Daisane said he received refugee status in the United States. He also touted his business experience in America, saying he had established businesses that provided jobs and services to members of the Somali community.
“I employed many Somalis, and those who needed our services received them from those businesses that I organized and managed over the past few years,” he said, according to an English translation of the video.
He also emphasized that living in America had not weakened his political ties to Somalia.
“It is worth noting that while I was abroad, I was never disconnected from the country’s politics, and I closely followed the politics of Somalia and the direction it was heading while I was away,” he said, according to the translation.
A separate Jubbaland TV video, this one from 2020, shows Daisane sitting in a place of honor at what appears to be an event for his parliamentary campaign. A translation of a sign at the event identifies Daisane as a candidate for Somalia’s parliament.
“We know that politicians come around once every four years. They stand right here, ask you to elect them, and then you never see them again,” Daisane said in the video, according to an English translation of his remarks.
“As for me, I intend and I promise that I will always come back here, visit you, and stay with you so that I know the needs, the problems, and what my people are feeling,” he said, according to the translation.
Both of the Jubbaland TV videos from 2020 and 2021 included comments which tagged Daisane and wished him a successful campaign. Additionally, Daisane received a supportive message from Ahmed Hirsi, the former husband of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar in one comment.
Hirsi wrote, “Maashallah Guuleyso walaalkeey” — translated as “Mashallah, may you succeed, my brother!”
From Somali politics to a Minnesota daycare
In the 2021 video, a photo of Daisane and DFL members of the Minnesota House of Representatives standing outside of Blooming Kids Child Care Center is shown.
Daisane is the owner and operator of Blooming Kids Child Care Center in St. Cloud, which was first registered with the State of Minnesota in 2017. According to records from the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), the center was licensed in 2018.
Blooming Kids Child Care Center has attracted considerable scrutiny in recent weeks.
As Alpha News has previously reported, Daisane’s daycare has received just over $7.29 million of taxpayer money from the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). CCAP is a state-run program that subsidizes childcare for low-income families.
The program is one of several programs at the center of Minnesota’s fraud scandals.
Blooming Kids Child Care Center also received nearly $600,000 in approved claims through a federally-funded food program, according to records provided to Alpha News. Some of those claims were approved under the sponsorship of Partners in Nutrition, the records show.
Partners in Nutrition is a nonprofit that recently agreed to an $18.5 million settlement with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office over allegations of widespread food program fraud. Blooming Kids Child Care Center was not named in that case.
Additionally, Alpha News interviewed a former worker of a nearby building who said they did not recall seeing children entering or leaving Blooming Kids Child Care Center. However, the worker acknowledged a rear entrance they could not observe.
Alpha News has reached out to Daisane on multiple occasions during past reporting on Blooming Kids Child Care Center as well as for this story. However, the daycare owner has never provided any comments or statements.
From a refugee camp to the political arena
According to his official legislative biography, Daisane was born on Jan. 1, 1988 in Somalia. He and his family fled Somalia’s civil war and spent 18 years in a refugee camp in Kenya before arriving in the United States, according to his campaign website.
Daisane graduated from St. Cloud State University in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in international relations and received a master’s degree in public administration from St. Cloud State in 2015.
He made an unsuccessful bid for St. Cloud City Council in 2016, and first ran for the Minnesota House in 2024, losing to Republican state Rep. Bernie Perryman by 13 points. Earlier this year, he won the same Minnesota House seat by just over three points.
Daisane is not the only Somali migrant who has run for office in Somalia after arriving in the United States. According to The Maine Wire, a man named Abdullahi Ali received millions in taxpayer dollars from the State of Maine while running to be president of Jubbaland.
Daisane’s wife described climbing border wall to reunite with him
Daisane isn’t the only member of his family who has spoken about their journey to America.
As Alpha News previously reported, a 2023 BBC News Somali article featured Daisane’s wife, Ayan Aidid, describing how she crossed the U.S.-Mexico border to be with Daisane, according to an English translation of the article.
“I smuggled myself and jumped over the wall for my love,” Aidid said, apparently referring to Daisane, according to the translation.
The BBC article went further, describing Aidid as “one of hundreds of Somalis who have jumped the US-Mexico border wall.”
Alpha News previously asked Daisane’s campaign whether the BBC account and translation accurately described his wife’s entry into the United States. The campaign did not respond.
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
