DFL candidate’s residency challenged in Minneapolis Senate special election

A candidate for an open state Senate seat in Minneapolis is facing allegations he doesn’t actually live in the district, the most recent residency challenge embroiling state Democrats in recent weeks.

Mohamed Jama, one of eight Democrats running in a special election for Senate District 60, registered to vote on Election Day last fall with an address in a neighboring legislative district, according to a petition filed with the Minnesota Supreme Court.

State law requires state House and Senate candidates to live in their district for at least six months ahead of an election. Early voting in the Jan. 14 special primary election begins Thursday, with a general election date set for Jan. 28.

“An individual must vote where they currently reside,” reads the petition. “If Jama was successfully able to provide proof of current residence in Senate District 63 on November 5, 2024, then he could not have also resided in Senate District 60 at least six months prior to the upcoming January 28, 2025 Special Election.”

The petition, filed by a resident in the district, asks the court to invalidate his candidacy and block his name from appearing on the ballot. Jama did not immediately return a request for comment.

The Democratic stronghold is open following the death of former Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic in December. Two Republicans have also filed to run for the seat, which includes most of northeast and southeast Minneapolis, Cedar-Riverside, the University of Minnesota and Augsburg University.

Jama’s address is listed as “private” in his filing for the seat with the Secretary of State’s Office.

The petition also cited text messages between a representative of the Senate DFL Caucus and Jama’s campaign manager, Jacob Hooper, seeking to confirm whether Jama resided in the district.

“In response, Mr. Hooper stated that Jama resides at an address in Senate District 60, that ‘[h]e’s live (sic) there for about 6 months,’ that ‘[h]e is not registered to vote at that location,’ and that ‘[h]e did vote in 2024 but used old address because this was during process of moving,’” according to the petition.

Jama is a community activist and co-founder of the Cedar Riverside Youth Council, according to his campaign website. He was also involved in a controversial caucus meeting in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood in 2014 that broke out into a fight and ended with now-U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar — a city aide at the time — in the hospital with a concussion.

Gov. Tim Walz called a special election the same day as another race for a Roseville-area seat in the Minnesota House, which is open after Republicans challenged the residency of DFLer Curtis Johnson.

Johnson won that seat by an overwhelming margin, but a Ramsey County judge sided with Republicans, ruling the DFLer didn’t live in the district and couldn’t take the oath of office when legislators return to the Capitol on Jan. 14. Johnson declined to appeal the case, triggering the special election and temporarily giving Republicans a 67-66 edge in the chamber.

Republicans are also challenging the timing of the House special election with the Supreme Court, arguing the governor acted too quickly under law in setting the date.