If Paul Wellstone, the late U.S. senator from Minnesota, is looking down from the heavens, he is smiling and happy to see what became of the young Kenyan woman whose family he saved from deportation decades ago.
That young woman was Huldah Momanyi Hiltsley, who made history on Tuesday. When voters chose her to represent District 38A in the Minnesota House of Representatives, Hiltsley became the first Kenyan immigrant to win a state assembly seat anywhere in the United States. Hiltsley, who ran on the ticket of Democratic Farmer-Labor (DFL), as the Democratic Party is known in Minnesota, defeated Brad Olson, her Republican opponent, by winning almost 65% of the vote.
“I stand before you tonight with a heart overflowing with gratitude, love, and a deep sense of responsibility,” Hiltsley said in her acceptance speech, fighting back tears, amid cheers from dozens of supporters who gathered for her election watch party at Oro Lounge in Brooklyn Park. “I want to honor my parents who have been a source of courage and resilience throughout my life. Our immigration story – our journey to this country – shaped my identity and purpose.”
The Hiltsley’s journey to the state capitol is one of the most remarkable stories of an immigrant’s resilience – one that restores faith in the American dream. It was a long, difficult, and at times painful journey that could have ended before it began, if it weren’t for the last-minute intervention by her community, and a U.S. senator who listened and decided to act.
“Senator Paul Wellstone stood up for us, and his belief in fairness and justice left a lasting impression,” said Hiltsley.
VIDEO: Huldah Hiltsley Election Night Watch Party on YouTube or Facebook.
In 2021, this reporter sat down with Hiltsley at her home in Brooklyn Center as she told her family’s immigration story. Her father, Phillip Momanyi, came to the United States as a student in 1988. His wife Tabitha joined him in 1992, followed in 1995 by 9-year-old Hiltsley and two siblings. The youngest of her siblings was born in the United States.
For 11 years, Momanyi fought the immigration system to gain legal permanent residency for himself and his family. His efforts were unsuccessful, and the family was ordered to leave the country. With only 48 hours left, a coalition led by an African American church the family attended petitioned Wellstone to intervene. The senator began lobbying for the family, which led to a last-minute court ruling overturning the deportation order. Unfortunately, Wellstone and his wife, Sheila, died in a plane crash in October 2002. He was 58.
“His intervention kept us here, and that experience taught me that government can truly be a force for good,” Hiltsley said. “We were not Americans who could give him votes, but he helped us just because we are human beings.”
At the watch party, Hiltsley’s mother, dressed in a sparkling purple skirt and a matching coat, danced to African music with other women. Hiltsley’s father paced around clad in a checkered blue suit with “HULDAH FOR HOUSE” and “HARRIS-WALZ” pins on the left collar of his jacket. When it was clear that their daughter had won, Momanyi became emotional about what could have happened if his family had been deported. Wellstone would have been exceptionally happy to see Hiltsley make history, he said.
“Senator Wellstone was a very compassionate man,” Momanyi said. “What he and his wife Sheila did for us is the reason we are still here, and we are very grateful.”
Hiltsley said because she was very young back then, she didn’t understand the magnitude of what the community and Wellstone had done for her family until years later when they became U.S. citizens.
“I didn’t have to think about, ‘Oh my goodness. I can’t say something because I’m worried about who is around me. I can’t go somewhere because I’m worried about, my immigration status. I can’t apply for a job. I can’t do this. I can’t do that,’” she said. “When you talk about the American dream, that’s where it was born for me as an individual. That’s when I realized that I could do anything.”
As she grew older, Hiltsley developed a strong desire to serve the community that rallied so hard to help when her family had lost hope. She attended Cooper High School in a Minneapolis suburb coincidentally named New Hope, before heading to Bethel University, where she earned three bachelor’s degrees, and later an MBA. Although she went on to build a successful career as data privacy and protection professional, Hiltsley said her true passion was organizing her community to ensure that the needs of every resident were met.
One of Hiltsley’s first major leadership roles was serving as the president of Mwanyagetinge, the largest organization of Kenyans in Minnesota. The population of Kenyans in the state is estimated to be around 20,500, according to the research nonprofit, Minnesota Compass.
Suzie Obwaya, a Kenyan American and businesswoman who runs an assisted living company named Fortunate Homes LLC, said Hiltsley made an immediate impact when she took office at Mwanyagetinge.
“She’s a visionary thinker,” Obwaya said. “She sees the future.”
Obwaya said Hiltsley did a lot for the community, like applying for grants and trying to bring awareness to people about what resources were out there for them to tap into. Obwaya said Hiltsley won the election because over the years she had built a reputation of a genuinely friendly and honest person.
“One thing I like about Huldah, first of all, is her smile,” Obwaya said. “When she smiles at you, you feel the warmth.”
Hiltsley first entered politics when she ran for a state Senate a seat in District 40 in the 2022 elections. However, following the redistricting mandated according to the 2020 U.S. Census results, she found herself in District 38 with Susan Pha, a councilwoman in the city of Brooklyn Park.
When she announced in 2023 that she was going to run for the House seat, Hiltsley found herself yet again going against Wynfred Russell, another savvy, trailblazing candidate, who like Pha had extensive experience running a successful election campaign. In 2018, Russell became the first Liberian American, and the first Black person elected to the Brooklyn Park City Council. Instead of seeking re-election in 2022, he opted to run for mayor of the city but lost.
In April, Hiltsley and Russell went to the DFL convention hoping to win the 60% of delegate votes needed for the party to endorse a candidate. When neither met the threshold, they took the decision to DFL voters in the primaries held on Aug. 13. Hiltsley beat Russell by a mere 50 votes to clinch the nomination.
Speaking to Mshale on Tuesday, Russell attributed Hiltsley’s victory in the primaries to the experience she gained when she ran against Pha.
“It was a very close race, but in the end the person who worked the hardest won,” Russell said. “I have participated in a number of elections, but running for the House is a whole other animal. There is a lot of helpful strategies that I think she put into the primary race, which showed that she learned a lot.”
Ben Hackett is the local DFL branch chair in Brooklyn Park and an early supporter Hiltsley, who endorsed soon after party delegates failed to agree on a candidate to back. Hackett said he got to know Hiltsley well during her run against Pha, who he said was his friend. He decided to back Hiltsley as soon as he heard that she was running for the House seat. What impressed him most about her was that, even after she lost, she never stopped participating in community events.
“I just saw her everywhere,” Hackett said. “She was helping out, but she wasn’t really asking for something in return when she volunteered with the party.”
Hackett said Hiltsley continued to participate in local DFL meetings and community events. After getting to know her, Hackett said he concluded that Hiltsley wasn’t out there for her own personal gain but seemed driven by a strong desire to making sure that her neighbors, friends, and community were properly represented and engaged in the political process.
“That’s the principal reason why I strongly supported Huldah,” he said. “And while I would like to call myself a friend of her opponent [Russell], I just felt that she was a better fit for the district and that’s why I endorsed her.”
Hackett said he believed that, after Hiltsley assumed her duties at the state capitol, she would continue doing the same community building and networking that won her so many supporters and helped her win the elections.
“Of course, we will definitely be holding her accountable to make sure that she continues to do that,” he said. “But I believe that she will do that regardless.”
During her victory speech, Hiltsley promised to continue being available to her constituents and urged them to join hands with her to make District 38A a place where everyone felt valued and empowered. She vowed to fight for safe neighborhoods, high quality education, affordable housing and healthcare that’s accessible to all.
“This journey is only the beginning,” she said. “The work doesn’t end here.”
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About Edwin Okong'o - Mshale Contributing Editor
Edwin Okong'o is a Mshale Contributing Editor. Formerly he was the newspaper's editor.
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