BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. — Minnesota state Rep. Huldah Momanyi Hiltsley has won the DFL nomination for House District 38A, defeating former Brooklyn Park City Council member Wynfred Russell in a rematch of a primary she won by just 50 votes two years ago.
Momanyi-Hiltsley received 1,822 votes, or 48.79% of the vote, compared with Russell’s 1,561 votes, or 41.81%, with 100% of precincts reporting Tuesday, according to unofficial results from the Minnesota Secretary of State. Richard A. Klatte finished third with 351 votes, or 9.40%.
The 261-vote victory puts Momanyi-Hiltsley, a first-term lawmaker who became the first Kenyan-born person elected to a state legislature in the United States in 2024, one step closer to a second term.
Momanyi-Hiltsley was one of only two DFL House incumbents seeking reelection this year who drew a primary challenger, making the District 38A contest an unusual intraparty fight for a sitting Democratic lawmaker.
Tuesday’s election was the second primary battle between Momanyi-Hiltsley and Russell in two years.
The two first faced each other in 2024 after longtime DFL Rep. Mike Nelson retired following 22 years in the Legislature. Neither candidate secured the 60% of delegate votes required for the DFL endorsement at the party convention, sending the decision to primary voters.
Momanyi-Hiltsley prevailed by just 50 votes in that contest, receiving 1,005 votes to Russell’s 955. She went on to win the November general election with nearly 65% of the vote, making history as the first Kenyan-born state legislator in the country.
Both candidates substantially increased their vote totals in Tuesday’s rematch. Russell grew his support from 955 votes in 2024 to 1,561 this year, while Momanyi-Hiltsley increased hers from 1,005 to 1,822 and widened her margin of victory from 50 votes to 261.
This year, Momanyi-Hiltsley and Russell agreed before the Senate District 38 DFL convention not to seek the party endorsement, saying they wanted to avoid the division within the African immigrant community that accompanied their 2024 endorsement battle. Both instead took their campaigns directly to primary voters.
Despite not seeking the local party endorsement, Momanyi-Hiltsley entered Tuesday’s primary with substantial support from organizations and elected officials traditionally aligned with the DFL.
Her endorsements included AFSCME Council 5, the Minnesota AFL-CIO and the Minnesota Nurses Association. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison headlined a fundraiser for her campaign, while state Sen. John Hoffman, who survived an assassination attempt in June 2025 on the same night former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed, also backed Momanyi-Hiltsley.
Momanyi-Hiltsley, a data privacy and protection professional, had pointed to her first-term legislative record as she made the case for reelection. When Russell announced his challenge in January, she told Mshale that she would let that record speak for itself.
She cited legislation she authored providing $80,000 for Osseo’s sesquicentennial celebration and an $8 million homelessness prevention assistance program, as well as legislation she co-authored strengthening renter protections in Minnesota. She was also the chief author of legislation that provided $400,000 for the Liberian Community Center in Brooklyn Park.
In a video posted on Facebook shortly after polls closed but before results were known, Momanyi-Hiltsley thanked her campaign supporters and District 38A voters for turning out.
“No matter what happens tonight, it has truly been an honor to represent you these last two years, and I pray and hope that I will get that honor to continue working for each and every one of you,” she said.
Momanyi-Hiltsley ended the message by telling supporters that “no matter what happens tonight, we are truly stronger together.”
House District 38A includes parts of Brooklyn Park and the city of Osseo.
In the Republican primary, GOP-endorsed Charlie Kistler easily defeated Yelena S. Kurdyumova, receiving 979 votes, or 90.23%, to Kurdyumova’s 106 votes, or 9.77%. Kistler will face Momanyi-Hiltsley in the Nov. 3 general election.
Russell did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday night. This story will be updated with his response if one is received.
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About Tom 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 board of 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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