- Around 85% of Liban Mohamed's donations since April have come from the Somali-American community.
- Mohamed held fundraising events for Somali-Americans in Minneapolis, Seattle and Washington, D.C.
- Ben McAdams got $368,500, Nate Blouin got $117,000 and Michael Farrell got $68,500 in the filing period.
Democratic Utah congressional candidate Liban Mohamed has mobilized a nationwide community of Somali-American supporters to drive donations for his campaign to represent Salt Lake City.
Donors with names originating from Somalia or East Africa account for around 85% of Mohamed’s unique donors, and roughly the same share of his total donations, according to FEC filings for April and May.
An identical percentage of his donors are from out of state, as the 27-year-old son of Somali immigrants has toured the country, seeking donations from areas with large Somali-American populations.
In late May, he attended a fundraising event for Somali-Americans in Minneapolis with progressive Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, who endorsed him in April.
Mohamed requested help “to make sure we are going to have another member in Congress from our Somali-American community” with a “Donate” QR code projected behind him.
He also traveled to Seattle and Virginia to visit Somali-American communities. Each gathering was attended by “a couple hundred people” who found out from word of mouth, he said.
“The excitement was just like through the roof,” Mohamed told the Deseret News. “The broader Muslim community and Somali diaspora that’s in the U.S., they see the content online and they’ve just been willing to give small dollar donations.”
In many cases, cumulative donations of a few hundred to a few thousand dollars represent a larger-than-normal donation and a major portion of donors’ annual income, Mohamed said.
What is Mohamed campaigning on?
Mohamed launched his campaign in January with a viral video, in the style of New York City’s socialist mayor Zohran Mamdani, that has since racked up more than 2.3 million views on X.
On April 25, Mohamed won 51% of the delegate vote at the Democratic Party nominating convention, beating former Rep. Ben McAdams, and other candidates who had raised more money.
His Mamdani-like campaign promises affordable housing, medicare for all, higher taxes on billionaires, condemnations of Israeli wars in the Middle East and universal childcare.
Mohamed’s donations include nearly $7,000 from High Hopes Childcare in Minneapolis, Sunrise Family Home Childcare in Seattle, and Above and Beyond Childcare in Salt Lake City.
There have been racist responses to his campaign from the start, according to Mohamed, and he believes Somalians across the U.S. hope he can shine a positive light on their community.
“They’ve always wanted somebody who’s going to run for office ... as a way to combat a lot of the bigotry that’s out there,” Mohamed said. “And so I’ve tried my best to be that person.”
How much money has been raised in CD1?
Mohamed has seen an opportunity to bring his brand of young, diverse progressivism to Washington, D.C., thanks to Utah’s new, court-ordered 1st Congressional District map.
Redrawn boundaries have created a seat with a partisan lean favoring Democrats by around 15 percentage points in any given year — and 24 points in the 2024 presidential race.
Pre-primary filings required by the Federal Election Commission show Mohamed with a haul of $166,300 from April 6 to June 3, for a total of nearly $288,000, with $112,000 cash on hand.
State Sen. Nate Blouin, who has tried to frame himself as the only viable progressive alternative to McAdams, received nearly $117,000, for a total of $635,600, with $56,000 left over.
Blouin has secured endorsements from progressive stars like Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal and California Rep. Ro Khanna, helping to raise his name ID.
Blouin’s social media-heavy campaign, focusing on confronting the Trump administration, has relied on small-dollar donations, with 10,751 donors with an average donation of $45.
Meanwhile, McAdams continues to dominate the fundraising race, with $368,500 in new money, bringing his total to more than $1,914,700, with more than $686,200 in the bank.
Attorney Michael Farrell received around $68,500 during the same period. Farrell has spent $200,000 of his own money on his campaign, with $39,000 remaining in his coffers.
Republican fundraising totals
Utah’s mid-cycle redistricting saga, prompted by a years-old lawsuit, resulted in three districts with a partisan lean favoring Republicans by anywhere from 38 to 47 percentage points.
Rep. Blake Moore leads the congressional field in fundraising ahead of the primary election on June 23.
Moore, who ranks fifth in U.S. House GOP leadership as vice chair of the conference, netted an additional $264,500 in the filing period, for a total of $2.25 million for the cycle.
His opponent, state. Rep. Karianne Lisonbee, reported nearly $24,000 in new money, for a total of $173,600 this cycle, with $60,000 cash on hand, compared to Moore’s $1.95 million.
In the 3rd District, Rep. Celeste Maloy raised more than $297,300 from April to June, giving her a total of $1.1 million, with more than $256,000 still left to spend.
Primary challenger Phil Lyman received more than $28,600 in donations, for a total of $30,800. Lyman loaned himself $22,500, and has just over $7,700 cash on hand.
