Stop the fraud or win elections. This is the choice now facing Democrats in Minnesota. Want to guess which one will prevail?
The ethnic-Somali population in Minnesota (including refugees and 2nd generation) numbers around 107,000, according to census data. Thirty-five (35) years ago, that number was zero. Nearly all are citizens.
The total foreign-born population in Minnesota sits around 500,000, most of whom are naturalized American citizens.
Even allowing for persons who have not yet reached voting age, we have sizable voting blocks here that lean heavily towards the Democrats.
The last statewide election was held in November 2022. Democrats swept all four contests (there was no race for U.S. Senate that year) by the following victor margins,
- Sec. of State–225,736 votes (9.15%)
- Governor–192,408 (7.66%)
- Attorney General–20,815 (0.84%)
- State Auditor–8,435 (0.34%)
All four races were decided by single-digit-percentage margins. The two closest races were within 1%.
It’s entirely fair to observe that the Democrats prevailed in 2022 through foreign-born votes. The two closest contests were decided with Somali votes. The next statewide election is next year, 2026.
Opinion polls show that Gov. Tim Walz is in trouble as he seeks a third term. In a September survey, local ABC outlet KSTP has Walz at a 47-47 approval rating, and that was before the latest round of fraud revelations.
So, Walz has decided to run against Donald Trump. But Walz is also under some pressure to be seen as “doing something” about the massive frauds conducted under his watch.
The well-reported piece on the subject from the newspaper County Highway, is now available on the internet. The headline,
The Shame of Our Cities:
How Minneapolis-Saint Paul became the Medicaid fraud capital of the USA
Looting, pillage, theft, billions in disbursements, all on the honor system
Reporter Armin Rosen covers the waterfront on the scandal, and he includes a look inside the Somali community.
Ethnic-Somali residents of Minnesota have historically seen poverty rates above 50 percent.
The largely refugee population has been dependent upon the nation-leading, Scandinavian-style, cradle-to-grave, guaranteed-income welfare system offered by Minnesota, with no questions asked.
Rosen points out another aspect of the state’s generosity with your tax dollars,
In tolerant Minnesota, respect for the war-battered Somali newcomers meant offering them help while also leaving them alone.
In addition to welfare payments, state Democrats have showered millions of your dollars on Somali cultural institutions. For a specific example, in the state budget passed in 2023, during a period of complete Democratic control of Minnesota, the local Somali Museum received more than $4 million in state grants.
Their generosity with your money has paid off. Rosen reports,
[A] Twin Cities Democratic strategist explained to me how outreach to Somali voters typically works: A campaign will pay a Somali political organizer, a community fixer “well-connected in a clan or tribal system to a certain group in a certain neighborhood or building” to set up meetings that resemble political rallies.
Then,
“Now what happens in the community after that meeting?” the strategist said, sounding like he was describing American advisors engaging with tribal chieftains in some faraway village in Afghanistan during the glory days of the Freedom Agenda. “You really don’t know.”
But in the end,
Though large numbers of Somali votes reliably materialize every election, no one who doesn’t speak Somali can really understand how or why.
To paraphrase the satirical TV show South Park,
- Phase 1: Distribute taxpayer money
- Phase 2: ?
- Phase 3: Win elections
Rinse and repeat.
