1 / 14 Ilhan Omar

<a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ilhan-omar-elected-to-minnesota-legislature_n_58228c5be4b0aac624882078">Ilhan Omar</a> was born in Somalia and immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 12 after spending four years in a refugee camp in Kenya. On Nov. 8, she became the first Somali-American Muslim woman elected to a state legislature, with a <a href="http://www.startribune.com/ilhan-omar-will-be-nation-s-first-somali-american-legislator/400478961/" target="_blank">victory in Minnesota</a>. The 34-year-old campaigned on a progressive platform, advocating for affordable college, criminal justice reform, economic equality and clean energy.<br><br>“It is the land of liberty and justice for all, but we have to work for it,” Omar <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pccc-candidates-2016-election_n_5813b435e4b0990edc3143d7">told The Huffington Post</a> in October. “Our democracy is great, but it’s fragile. It’s come through a lot of progress, and we need to continue that progress to make it actually ‘justice for all.’”

STEPHEN MATUREN