Somali-born childcare operator Abdi Daisane has won a seat in Minnesota’s state legislature despite scrutiny over his business, which has received millions of dollars through government-funded programmes.
The Democrat defeated Republican Mike Conway, president of the St Cloud City Council, by 9,164 votes to 8,570 to capture House District 14A.
The result gives Daisane, 38, the distinction of becoming St Cloud’s first Somali-born state lawmaker and overturns a Republican majority that had held the seat for more than 20 years.
Daisane runs Blooming Kids Child Care Center in St Cloud. The business has received $7.29 million through Minnesota’s state-run Child Care Assistance Programme since 2018, as well as almost $600,000 through the federally funded Child and Adult Care Food Programme since 2020.
The food-programme funding was administered through Partners in Nutrition, a non-profit organisation that agreed to an $18.5 million civil settlement with Minnesota authorities in September.
Partners in Nutrition was accused of submitting false claims for meals that had not been provided to children during and after the Covid pandemic. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said the organisation had “knowingly defrauded the State of Minnesota out of millions of dollars in federal child nutrition funds during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, in violation of the Minnesota False Claims Act”.
Under the settlement, the organisation agreed to surrender its remaining funds, co-operate with investigators and dissolve permanently.
Blooming Kids was not named as a defendant in that case, and there has been no established finding that Daisane or his childcare centre took part in the alleged fraud. Authorities have said investigations into other organisations and individuals linked to Partners in Nutrition are continuing.
Separate questions have been raised about the running of Blooming Kids. The centre appeared quiet during a visit by reporters earlier this week, while a worker at a neighbouring business reportedly said they could not recall seeing children entering or leaving the facility.
More than a dozen licensing violations have also been reported, involving matters including staff supervision, training, medical records and cleanliness. Some earlier breaches were later resolved, although further citations were issued in October.
Daisane had previously contested the district in 2024, when he lost to Republican state representative Bernie Perryman. Perryman did not seek re-election to the House this year and was unsuccessful in a campaign for the state Senate.
Celebrating his victory in a speech partly delivered in Somali, Daisane said during his campaign that he wanted to focus on affordable housing, education, economic opportunities and government accountability, including tackling fraud.
Born in Somalia, he spent much of his childhood in a refugee camp in Kenya before moving to the United States in 2009. He later settled in St Cloud, studied at St Cloud State University and established his childcare business.
His election prompted angry responses from conservative commentators on social media. Matt Brodsky, president of Red Ax Strategies, wrote: “We are a lost state. We should cede it to Canada.”
Conservative commentator Eric Daugherty said: “Minnesota is so freaking cooked,” while conservative personality Gunther Eagleman added: “Minnesota is done.”
