Minnesota made history last night by becoming the first state to elect an openly lesbian Native American to its legislature.
As Minnesota Public Radio is reporting, Allen, a Democrat, won 55 percent of the vote in her Minneapolis district. The 48-year-old attorney, who's lived in the city for the past 14 years, will represent District 61B, where almost half the children live in poverty.
"It reminds me of a lot of the places I grew up," Allen is quoted as saying. "It's 62 percent minority."
Victory Fund officials, who endorsed Allen throughout her campaign, praised her victory. “We’re thrilled for Susan and the remarkable progress her victory represents,” said Tiffany Muller, Victory Fund’s vice president for political operations. ”This is our first win of 2012, and it’s a fantastic way to start off what will be a very exciting year for LGBT candidates.”
Earlier in her campaign, she noted, "I reflect the great diversity of our district, as a Native American woman and a member of the LGBT community, and hope to bring this important voice to the state capital to offer more balanced, representative contributions and input."
Following her victory, Allen told Southwest Minneapolis Patch that she was eager to dive into legislative work. "My early priorities will be to bring jobs and job training to our district, work on a fair tax system for Minnesota and fight the discriminatory constitutional marriage amendment," she said.