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MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Immigration, Fraud and Public Safety Drive North Metro’s District 38 Primaries
Voters in Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center and Osseo will decide contested legislative primaries Tuesday in Minnesota Senate District 38 and House District 38A. The campaigns have centered on immigration enforcement, government oversight, public safety, taxes and household affordability.
BROOKLYN PARK, MN (August 10, 2026). North Metro voters will choose among competing candidates for the Minnesota Legislature Tuesday in primary contests that could shape representation for Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center and Osseo.
In the Senate District 38 Democratic-Farmer-Labor primary, incumbent Sen. Susan Pha faces challenger Nehemiah Garley.
Pha is seeking another term after serving in the Legislature on issues including commerce, consumer protection, housing and community development. Garley has presented himself as an alternative voice seeking greater accountability and responsiveness in state government.
The winner will advance to face Republican Brad Olson in November. Olson does not have a Republican primary opponent.
Three candidates seek the House District 38A DFL nomination
House District 38A has a three-person DFL primary involving incumbent Rep. Huldah Momanyi Hiltsley, former Brooklyn Park City Council member Wynfred Russell and Richard “Lefty” Klatte.
Momanyi Hiltsley became the first Kenyan American woman elected to a state legislature in the United States. She has emphasized education, workforce development, immigrant communities and economic opportunity during her legislative service.
Russell brings experience from the Brooklyn Park City Council and has previously sought legislative office. Klatte is campaigning as a democratic socialist and has emphasized a more progressive policy agenda.
On the Republican side, Charlie Kistler and Yelena Kurdyumova are competing for the party’s House District 38A nomination.
House District 38B incumbent Rep. Samantha Vang, a DFL member, and Republican Robert Marvin do not face primary opponents, according to candidate information available before the election.
Forum exposed policy divisions
A July candidate forum organized by the League of Women Voters brought immigration enforcement, public-program fraud, public safety, taxes and the cost of living to the center of the campaign.
The candidates offered different assessments of the state government’s response to fraud involving publicly funded programs. They also differed over how Minnesota should protect immigrant residents while responding to federal enforcement and how lawmakers should balance public services against taxpayer concerns.
Those differences are particularly relevant in District 38, which contains some of Minnesota’s most diverse neighborhoods and substantial African, Asian and immigrant populations.
The effects of Operation Metro Surge remain part of the political environment, even after the federal government ended the large-scale deployment. Families, businesses, schools and community organizations continue to describe economic and emotional consequences from the operation.
A primary with local consequences
State legislators make decisions affecting school funding, housing, transportation, health care, public safety, human-services programs and local-government aid.
For Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center, state support is also important to major infrastructure projects, workforce development and economic initiatives.
The primary winners will move forward to the November 3 general election. Tuesday’s results will not necessarily determine who ultimately takes office, but they will decide which competing visions remain before voters.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Residents should use the Minnesota Secretary of State’s polling-place finder and sample-ballot tools to confirm which legislative contests appear on their ballots.
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