Omar Fateh, a Minnesota state senator running for Minneapolis mayor, has recently drawn comparisons to New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani due to the similarities in their progressive campaign platforms.

Fateh posted a campaign video on Sunday announcing his vision for Minneapolis. The Democratic candidate’s campaign policies include a $20 minimum wage, rent stabilization, and reform of the city’s police department.

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“As a renter in Stevens Square with a full-time job on top of my part-time Senator job, and a baby on the way, I want to keep money in working people’s pockets and circulating in our local economy,” Fateh wrote, adding he wants Minneapolis police to be part of the resistance against the Trump administration’s immigration agenda.

“As Mayor, I’ll stand up for our progressive values & ensure the MPD doesn’t interact with ICE — immigration raid or not,” he continued.

Mamdani similarly wants to freeze rent in New York City and block local police from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. The Trump administration has threatened the socialist candidate with arrest if he interferes with federal immigration enforcement operations as mayor.

Additionally, Mamdani’s naturalized citizenship is under scrutiny after some Republican lawmakers called for his deportation due to his past praise of a group convicted of funding terrorists. Born in Uganda, Mamdani became a U.S. citizen in 2018.

Fateh is also under scrutiny regarding his citizenship, even though he was born in Washington, D.C., and has served in the Minnesota state legislature since 2021. Because he is of Somali descent and practices Islam, some have criticized his appearance.

For example, Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk accused Muslims of taking over the nation in government roles because of “mass migration” to the United States.

Fateh issued a statement on Monday condemning Kirk’s comments.

“Minneapolis is a beautifully diverse city that stands firm in our progressive values. The hate I’ve seen today — and most days — is not who we will ever be,” the 35-year-old Democrat said.

In a subsequent post, he referenced last month’s shooting that injured Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife and killed Democratic state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband. Before his arrest, 57-year-old suspect Vance Boelter allegedly intended to target more Democrats in addition to abortion providers and abortion-rights activists. Fateh called the shooting a “hateful attack.”

“This hateful rhetoric has no place in our politics, and we cannot let this vitriol flow unchecked,” the state senator added.

Right-wing social media account Dr. Maalouf described Mamdani as a “Muslim Communist” and Fateh as a “Somali Muslim Socialist.”

“If they win, you can expect a WAVE of ‘progressive’ Muslims running for mayor, governor, or even president. The Muslim Brotherhood playbook,” he posted on X.

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Fateh has also been attacked by conservative social media users posting memes comparing him to the Somali pirates hijacking a ship in Tom Hanks’s 2013 movie Captain Phillips.

Fateh announced his candidacy in December for the Minneapolis mayoral election on Nov. 4. He is running against two-term Democratic incumbent Jacob Frey.