DFL endorses State Rep. Ilhan Omar for U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison's congressional seat

State Rep. Ilhan Omar won the DFL Party endorsement on Sunday in the crowded race to fill U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison's seat in Congress.

Omar, a first-term state lawmaker from Minneapolis who has quickly gained national media attention as the first Somali-American to serve in a state legislature, won the three-way endorsement contest after two rounds of voting. She told a cheering crowd of supporters that she is excited to build on the momentum from the party convention as she heads toward a competitive August primary election.

"I am ready for all of us to go out tomorrow and door-knock and continue to have conversations with the people of Congressional District Five," she said.

The endorsement is functionally a symbolic gesture, since all five DFL candidates in the race will appear on the Aug. 14 primary ballot, and the three who participated in Sunday's endorsement convention in Minneapolis — Omar, state Sen. Patricia Torres Ray and real estate broker Frank Drake — all said they intended to continue with their campaigns with or without the party's endorsement.

Read more: http://www.startribune.com/dfl-meets-sunday-to-endorse-candidate-for-ellison-s-congressional-seat/485770022/#1