3 Nigerian- Americans, Esther Agbaje, Oye Owolewa and Nnamdi Chukwuocha, have won their electoral bids in the United States elections held on Tuesday.
Ms Agbaje, who contested to represent District 59B in the Minnesota House of Representatives onthe platform of the Democratic Party, won with 17,396 votes.
The 35-year-old Harvard law graduate defeated Republican Alan Shilepsky and Green Party candidate. Lisa Neal-Delgado, to represent downtown and north Minneapolis in the state House.
She is one of the nine Nigerian-Americans on the ballot in Tuesday’s election.
Born to Nigerian parents – an Episcopal priest and a librarian – Ms Agbaje became the first Nigerian- American to be elected to the Min- nesota legislature.
With a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, she had a stint in the US State Department, experience working with city go- vernment, and accolades at a prestigious law firm, her profile read.
In August, Ms Agbaje was one of four newcomers who defeated established Democratic legislators in the primary – two in the state House and two in the Senate.
She is interested in prison reform, fighting racial discrepancies, housing among others.
She took to Twitter to announce her victory yesterday.
“I’m honored to have earned the support and trust of my neighbors to serve as their representative for #MN #HD59B. From North #MPLS to North Loop, Elliot Park to Bryn Mawr, I will work hard every day to represent this entire district with empathy, compassion and pride. #ThankYou”.
Another Nigerian Democrat, Oye Owolewa, was elected as a sha- dow member of the House of Re- presentatives from the District of Columbia.
He polled 164,026 votes to defeat incumbent Joyce Robinson- Paul, who scored 18,600 votes, and Sohaer Syed with 15,372 votes.
Mr Owolewa, who has roots in Kwara and Oyo states, holds a PhD in Pharmacy from the Northea- stern University, Boston.
In 2018, he was elected commis- sioner of his neighbourhood in SouthEast DC.
As an advocate for DC statehood, he launched TaxFreeDC as a movement to combat DC’s taxation without representation.
According to his website, TaxFreeDC declares that until DC statehood is achieved, DC’s tax re venue shall no longer go to the fe- deral government.
“Oye believes our money belongs here for DC priorities instead of going to a government that fails to recognise us,” it said.
He became the first Nigerian- American to occupy the seat.
As the results trickled yesterday morning, Owolewa shared the news of his victory on his social media.
Lastly, Nnamdi Chukwuocha won re-election as a member of Delaware House of Representatives from District 1.
As a Democrat without an opponent, he won 100 per cent of the votes with 7,640.
