Somali-American Primary Winner Clarifies Marital Status

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A woman on the brink of becoming the nation's first Somali-American state legislator is clarifying questions about her marital status that arose following her victory in a primary election last week.

Ilhan Omar says she married Ahmed Nur Said Elmi in 2009, but identified another man, Ahmed Hirsi, as her husband in campaign literature.

Omar says she is in the process of divorcing Elmi. She says she met Hirsi in 2002 and that he's the father of her three children.

She says when her relationship with Hirsi ended in 2008, she met and married Elmi, but never legally dissolved their marriage. Omar says she reconciled with Hirsi in 2011.

The 33-year-old community activist defeated a 44-year incumbent last week in a heavily Democratic Minneapolis district where she is likely to win in the general election.