With Democrats enjoying a one seat majority in the Minnesota Senate, a former DFL staffer turned businessman, Ian Oundo, on Thursday launched his own bid for the Legislature’s upper chamber to represent District 35.
The district includes Coon Rapids and Anoka. The election is on November 2026.
Oundo in a press release following his announcement touted his community organizing background and his experience in business.
In 2019 the Minnesota DFL tapped him as their civic engagement director, the highest ranked African that either major party in the state had hired at the leadership level at the time.
After his tenure at the DFL, the Ugandan-born Oundo says his time as an entrepreneur, when he was able to start and run a successful business, equipped him to understand the challenges that businesses, especially small ones, face.
He’s now running for the state Senate to bring what he calls a “community-centered and business approach to the State Senate.”
He lives in Coon Rapids with his wife Laura and their two children.
“The price of eggs doesn’t care what color your skin is or where you come from,” Oundo said. “But when our businesses are strong, our workers are prepared, and our communities are educated and adaptable, we can create a community where the cost of living doesn’t cost our families’ lives or futures.”
While Democrats enjoy a one-seat advantage in the Senate, there are two special elections this November to fill two open seats – Districts 29 and 47 – which gives Republicans the opportunity to have the majority if they win both.
The Senate currently has five Black members (two men and three women), including Senate President Bobby Joe Champion. Two of the five are African-born, and two others were born in the U.S. to African immigrant parents.
Oundo is challenging four-term GOP senator Jim Abeler who was first elected to the position in 2016. Abeler’s run for a fourth, and current term, in 2022 was however a close one. He beat Democrat Kari Rehrauer by just 186 votes. Rehrauer received slightly more campaign contributions – $126,670 to Abeler’s $115,588. Prior to joining the Senate, Abeler served seven terms in the Minnesota House.
Senators in the Minnesota Legislature – which is a parttime position – earn a salary of $51,750 and a per diem of $86 per day when in session.
74% of the district’s residents are white, while Blacks constitute 8 percent and Asians 7 percent, according to Census data.
The American Community Survey, which is part of the U.S. Census Bureau, puts the median household income in the district at almost $88,000 compared to the state average of $87,000, and per capita income at $42,000, compared to the state average of $47,000. 26% of those living in the district have a bachelor’s degree or higher while 38% have some college degree. About 94% have completed high school.
Less than half of its population (49%) is married and census data puts the median value of owner-occupied homes just over $296,000 – with 72% of the 34,296 housing units in the district classified as owner-occupied. Close to 8 percent of those living in the district are below the poverty line, close to the state average of 9 percent.
Like Oundo, 10 percent of the district’s population is foreign-born. At his campaign launch, he alluded to the aspirations of many that come to America for a better life, saying his campaign “will focus on practical solutions that put families first, never losing faith in the American Dream: the belief that in this country, anything and everything is possible.”
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About Tom Gitaa Gitaa, Editor-in-Chief
Born and raised in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa, Tom is the Founder, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Mshale which has been reporting on the news and culture of African immigrants in the United States since 1995. He has a BA in Business from Metro State University and a Public Leadership Credential from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He was the original host of Talking Drum, the signature current affairs show on the African Broadcasting Network (ABN-America), which was available nationwide in the United States via the Dish Network satellite service. On the show, he interviewed Nobel laureates such as 2004 Nobel Peace prize winner, Professor Wangari Maathai, the first woman from Africa to win the peace prize and heads of states. Tom has served and chaired various boards including Global Minnesota (formerly Minnesota International Center), the sixth largest World Affairs Council in the United States. He has previously served as the first Black President of the Board of Directors at Books for Africa. He also serves on the boards of New Vision Foundation and the Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium. He has previously served two terms on the board of the United Nations Association. An avid runner, he retired from running full marathons after turning 50 and now only focuses on training for half marathons.
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