Nigerian-American, Esther Agbaje Clinches Democrat Ticket For Minnesota House Of Reps

Thirty-five-year-old Nigerian-American Esther Agbaje has emerged the democrat candidate for 59B Minnesota District.

Agbaje defeated incumbent lawmaker Raymond, who was seeking a fifth term to represent the district, in Tuesday’s Democratic Party primary.

Agbaje, who polled 47% of the votes cast against Dehn’s 42%. She will slug it out with her major contender, Republican candidate Alan Shilepsky come November 2, 2020 for a seat in the Minnesota house of representatives.

Born to immigrant Nigerian parents, Agbaje, a Harvard-trained lawyer, also holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a master’s in Public Administration.

She is known for her labor rights advocacy and was recognized by Minnesota Lawyer as attorney of the year in 2019.

She was part of a legal aid team praised for defending evicted tenants and pushing for much-needed Hepatitis C medication for prisoners in her District.

Agbaje attributes her energy and work ethic to her priest-father and homeless-care-mother, whose selfless services shaped her own.

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“As a child of parents whose mission was to serve others, I have followed in their footsteps throughout my life. In college, I worked to advance labor rights. In graduate school, I helped build healthy and sustainable communities. In the State Department, I managed programs advocating for civil rights,” Agbaje wrote on her website.

Except the state of Nebraska, other American states, including Minnesota, run bicameral legislatures—a Senate and a House of Representatives (at state levels).

The office is tenured for two years and has no reelection limitation.