Huldah Hiltsley won Tuesday’s DFL primary for State House of Representatives in Brooklyn Park and Osseo, narrowly defeating former Brooklyn Park City Council member Wynfred Russell.
Hiltsley won 51.28% of the votes in the primary for District 38A, a traditional DFL stronghold, while Wynfred Russell received 48.72% of the votes. Results released by the Minnesota Secretary of State's Office showed Hiltsley with 1,005 votes and Russell with 955
“This is just a step, the big picture is November,” said Hiltsley, after the results were announced. Although the district's history makes it almost certain she will win the general election, Hiltsley wants to make sure there is a big turnout across the ballot in November. .
At MC’s Tap House, where Hiltsley was holding a watch party, the crowd greeted and cheered when they realized Hiltsley won the race. The crowd chanted Huldah’s name and her slogan, “Stronger Together.”
“I told myself regardless of what was gonna happen tonight, it was gonna be the same speech of gratitude,” said Hiltsley after results were announced. She went across the room to thank members of her team, volunteers who went door knocking during the campaign, data managers, and her family.
Hiltsley raised $31,200 for her campaign, twice as much as Russell, according to the last report she provided the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board.
Their primary battle developed after Representative Michael Nelson announced his retirement last January, opening a path for new candidates in the north metro district that has become home to a growing number of African immigrants in the last two decades.
District 38A, which was redistricted in 2020, is home to diverse immigrant communities. It is estimated that only 38% of the population is white, while 33% of the inhabitants are Black, 18% are Asian, and 9% are Hispanic, according to 2022 U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
Brad Olson won the Republican primary for District 38A, with nearly 90% of the votes, against Yelena S. Kurdyumova, who earned 10% of the votes. Results showed Olson with 566 votes and Kurdyumova with 64 votes.
Brooklyn Park Mayor Hollies Winston endorsed Hiltsley’s campaign and attended the party on Tuesday. “I am so proud, I am so relieved,” he said.
Huldah Hiltsley told me more about her day right after the polls closed. pic.twitter.com/qs7TgnaSmv
— Elza (@ElzaGoffaux) August 14, 2024
Four tables of the restaurant were full of supporters and volunteers, and the room kept filling before the results were announced.
“We want to have somebody in this seat who can resonate with us, that knows our struggle, knows our story,” said Fartun Nur, who has lived in Brooklyn Park for more than 20 years.
At his watch party at the Organization of Liberians in Minnesota, Russell addressed about a dozen supporters after results showed him trailing Hiltsley by 47 votes, or 2.4%.
"The process is not over yet," he said.
His campaign plans to look into the process for an automatic recount. Former mayor Lisa Jacobson, who attended the party and endorsed Russell’s campaign, repeatedly reminded supporters that she won her race by just one vote.
Russell, 52, had represented residents of Brooklyn Park on the City Council from 2019 to 2022, before running against Winston for mayor. He also founded the African Career Education and Resources (ACER) and has a background in public health.
Before the results came in, Binta Barry-Toe, a Brooklyn Center resident, praised Russell’s work for the Liberian community during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“He’s a Liberian,” she said. “He’s been in this community for 20 years plus, and has influenced the community positively by advocating for all rights.”
Jamal Said, candidate at the Brooklyn Park City Council supported Hiltsley in this race.
“She knows about our issues; she knows the culture of a lot of people,” he said. "She has been at the forefront of a lot of local fights. She is the kind of person who will take those issues to the state."
Hiltsley, a 39-year-old Kenyan born data privacy manager, aims to bring her experience in the corporate and nonprofit sectors to her work in the Legislature. She campaigned to create an environment where all district residents can thrive.
Besides Winston, she was endorsed by the Minnesota DFL Progressive Caucus, and several current DFL legislators.
She said those endorsements “show that I’m ready to go to the Capitol and actually be able to be productive on Day One.”
Just as when she ran unsuccessfully for the State Senate two years ago, Hiltsley said her family legacy was what inspired her run for public office.
“We fought the immigration system for 11 long years, my dad and my mom did,” she said. Hiltsley and her family came to the United States from Kenya in 1995, and risked deportation before Senator Paul Wellstone pleaded their case.
“It finally clicked when good people run, lives are changed for the better.”
