Abdi Daisane, a Somali-born daycare owner whose business has received millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded assistance and was connected to a nonprofit involved in an $18.5 million fraud settlement, has been elected to the Minnesota legislature.
Daisane, who operates Blooming Kids Child Care Center in St. Cloud, won Tuesday’s midterm election despite growing scrutiny surrounding the daycare’s government funding and its participation in publicly funded childcare programs.
The Democrat defeated Republican Mike Conway, president of the St. Cloud City Council, to win Minnesota House District 14A with roughly 52 percent of the vote.
His election makes him the first Somali-born state representative from St. Cloud and overturns a Republican hold on the district that lasted more than 20 years.
The victory has drawn particular attention because of the millions of dollars Blooming Kids received through government programs, including funding administered through a nonprofit that recently reached a multimillion-dollar fraud settlement with the state.
Blooming Kids Child Care Center received $7.29 million through Minnesota’s state-run Child Care Assistance Program between 2018 and the present, according to Fox News.
The daycare also collected nearly $600,000 from the federally funded Child and Adult Care Food Program beginning in 2020.
Those food-program payments were sponsored by Partners in Nutrition, a nonprofit that agreed in September to an $18.5 million civil settlement with Minnesota authorities.
Somali-born Democrat Abdi Daisane won a seat in Minnesota’s state legislature despite mounting scrutiny of his taxpayer-funded childcare business
Partners in Nutrition was accused of filing false claims for meals that were never served to children during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
When the settlement was announced, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said the nonprofit had “knowingly defrauded the State of Minnesota out of millions of dollars in federal child nutrition funds during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, in violation of the Minnesota False Claims Act.”
Under the agreement, the nonprofit will give up its remaining funds, assist investigators and permanently dissolve.
Blooming Kids was not named as a defendant in the case, and no finding has established that Daisane or his daycare took part in the alleged fraud.
State officials have said investigations involving other people and organizations linked to the nonprofit are still underway.
At the same time, questions have been raised about the daycare’s operations after reporters found the facility appeared quiet during a visit earlier this week.
The visit came after an investigation by the conservative Minnesota outlet Alpha News, which quoted an employee at a neighboring business who said they could not remember seeing children enter or leave Blooming Kids.
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The outlet also reported that the daycare had accumulated more than a dozen licensing violations. Other local reporting pointed to concerns involving staff supervision, employee training, medical records and cleanliness.
Blooming Kids Child Care Center received nearly $8million in government funding and was sponsored by a nonprofit that agreed to an $18.5million fraud settlement, although the daycare itself was not named in the case
Some of the earlier violations were later resolved, but additional citations were issued in October.
Despite the controversy, the 38-year-old candidate secured a decisive political win, defeating Conway 9,164 votes to 8,570.
Daisane had sought the same seat in 2024 but was defeated by Republican state Representative Bernie Perryman.
Perryman chose not to run for reelection to the House this year and instead mounted an unsuccessful campaign for the state Senate.
Daisane’s second campaign proved successful. He celebrated the result in a victory speech delivered partly in Somali.
Born in Somalia, Daisane spent much of his childhood in a refugee camp in Kenya before relocating to the United States in 2009.
He eventually made his home in St. Cloud, attended St. Cloud State University and founded his childcare business.
His campaign focused on affordable housing, education, economic opportunity and government accountability, including efforts to prevent fraud.
News of his election nevertheless triggered an angry response from conservative commentators on social media.
“We are a lost state,” Matt Brodsky, president of Red Ax Strategies, wrote on X. “We should cede it to Canada.”
Conservative commentator Eric Daugherty also reacted strongly.
“Minnesota is so freaking cooked,” he wrote.
“Minnesota is done,” conservative personality Gunther Eagleman added.
Our News Outlet has contacted Abdi Daisane and the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office for additional comment.
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