This is Ilhan Omar’s seat. On the ballot:

Ilhan Omar (DFL)
John Nagel (Republican)
DeVelle L. Jackson (Independent)

Ilhan Omar (DFL)

If you live in Minneapolis, and even if you don’t, you probably already have an opinion on Ilhan Omar. I like her: she’s solidly progressive, she continues to make the GOP frothingly angry just by existing, and when she got assaulted at a Town Hall she was ready to fight the guy herself.

In any given two-year period she’s absolutely done stuff that annoys me, but it’s never yet been anything that would persuade me to vote for anyone running against her in the primary, let alone a Republican.

DeVelle L. Jackson (Independent)

DeVelle Jackson isn’t a Republican, and his website is mostly pretty progressive. He supports gun safety laws, higher taxes on the rich, and strong privacy laws. He also wants terms limits (18 years) and a mandatory retirement age for House reps, Senators, and Supreme Court justices. (I’m increasingly interested in the idea of a mandatory retirement age.)

He also mentions on his website that he’s a member of the Progressive Baptist Church, which on their website has a belief statement that includes, “We believe that any form of sexual immorality, such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pornography or any attempt to change one’s sex, or disagreement with one’s biological sex, is sinful and offensive to God.” Now: quite a lot of people are members of churches that hold views they don’t share. But I looked on his website and on his social media and as far as I could tell, Develle does not mention anything at all about his position on LGBTQ+ rights.

So I e-mailed him and asked. No response. I also tried leaving replies on Twitter, including to the post where he linked to his news release complaining about how media organizations act like this is a two-person race and quotes himself saying, “If a news organization publishes a guide telling Minnesotans who is running for Congress, voters should be able to expect that it will actually tell them who is running for Congress.”

I’ll note that he also seems to favor some abortion restrictions (though not in the first trimester).

Anyway, if he ever responds to me, I’ll update. I do think that newspapers should take him at least as seriously as they take the Republican in the race. I can imagine a scenario where a mostly-progressive Independent wins in the 5th. There’s no scenario where a Republicans wins. (Although the Republican is campaigning! DeVelle doesn’t actually seem to be, other than posting complaints to social media about not being treated seriously.)

John Nagel (Republican)

John Nagel is a retired State Trooper who tries to present a very genial, grandfatherly persona on his website, which provides a lot of very generic Republican talking points (law and order, “we’re going to lock down the border,” he hates gay and trans people, etc.) He claims to be a “moderate conservative” but scrolling down his Twitter makes it clear there is nothing moderate about his views. Recent posts include racist dogwhistles and a huge amount of Islamophobia (mostly in honor of the 25th anniversary of 9/11).

Anyway, I would absolutely vote for Ilhan Omar and would encourage everyone else to do so as well!

---

This seems like a good year to fundraise for a trans nonprofit, so I’m fundraising this year for TIGERRS. I don’t have a Patreon, and a fundraiser lets me see in a tangible way that people value my work, which is really helpful as a motivator. (This project is a lot of work.) I raised $7,230 during primary season so I’ve raised the goal.

I also have a new book out! Obstetrix is about an obstetrician who gets kidnapped by a cult because they want someone on hand to deliver their babies; it’s a story about enduring, surviving, and not giving up. You can buy it anywhere fine books are sold, and I’ve been doing my best to keep Uncle Hugo’s, Moon Palace, and Dreamhaven Books in signed copies.