A coast-to-coast network of Somalis in the US has been supporting and is responsible for 85 percent of the donations going to Liban Mohamed, a Somali-American candidate running as a Democrat for Utah’s first congressional district, according to a report from Deseret News.

Utah’s first congressional district—which used to tilt to the right—is now comprised of Salt Lake City and its surrounding area and is expected to go to the Democratic candidate in the upcoming midterm elections. Mohamed is competing against other Democrats in a primary election set to take place on June 23.

Others in the race include Democrat Utah state Senator Nate Blouin—who infamously posted “that kid’s got moves” in response to a pre-teen boy dressed in drag on X—and Democrat Ben McAdams. 

According to FCC documents, names of Somali or East African descent are attached to around 85 percent of Mohamed’s donors. They are also responsible for around 85 percent of the funding he has raised.

Many of the donations are coming from outside of Utah, according to the Deseret News analysis of the FEC files. Mohamed has also been going on tour around the country to locations with heavy Somali populations, such as Minneapolis and elsewhere. Some of the donations include funds from High Hopes Childcare in Minneapolis, Sunrise Family Home Childcare in Seattle, and Above and Beyond Childcare in Salt Lake City. One of the operators of High Hopes Childcare in Minneapolis was listed as Zakirye Ahmed up until 2024.  

While in Minneapolis in May, he attended a fundraising event with left-wing congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who has also endorsed the 27-year-old politician.

Mohamed has been running a campaign similar to New York City’s Zohran Mamdani, largely focused on far-left proposals such as higher taxes on the wealthy, universal healthcare, and condemnations of Israel.

In a recent appearance with Sebastian Stewart James of the far-left group the Black Menaces, Mohamed said that he supports abolishing ICE, claimed there is a genocide in Palestine, decriminalizing weed, and reparations for slavery, and said that he is against the data center being constructed in Utah with investor Kevin O’Leary.

On his campaign page, Mohamed says that “housing is a right” and that if elected, he will “end unfair evictions.” He wants to raise the minimum wage to $20 an hour, create taxpayer-funded universal childcare, and universal pre-k.

He wants to expand taxpayer-funded housing projects and use only union labor forces to build those homes, as stated in a campaign video. He would like to codify abortion limits found in Roe v Wade in law, as well as pass legislation to end all immigration detention.

“The broader Muslim community and Somali diaspora that’s in the US, they see the content online and they’ve just been willing to give small dollar donations,” Mohamed said of his campaign content that has been posted and seen by supporters around the US.