Democratic candidates from ND District 16 hope to give voice to the underrepresented

House candidates Hamida Dakane and Tracey Wilkie and senate candidate Kari Breker are running as a team to represent District 16 in the upcoming state legislative election.

WEST FARGO, N.D. — There was something unsettling about the North Dakota legislature that instantly stood out to Hamida Dakane.

“If you look in the North Dakota house, whether it is Republican or Democrat or independent, the gender women is not represented well,” said Dakane.

Dakene is hoping to be one of the faces to start changing that.

She is running as a Democrat for district 16 as a team alongside fellow house candidate Tracy Wilkie, and senate candidate Kari Breker.

All three women bring a different background to the table that they feel will represent the diversity of the district.

Dakane is an immigrant from Kenya who moved to Fargo to attend NDSU. Breker has a history in social work and is a mother of four. Wilkie is also a mother, who spent the past 20 years working in criminal justice and is a proud member of the indigenous community having grown up on the Turtle Mountain Reservation.

There are several issues where they would like to see change happen.

“Hamida, Kari and I will be the voice advocating for our educational system, for our healthcare system, for workers rights, for paid leave,” said Wilkie.

The group is fighting for more affordable housing options, better accessibility to health care for all and better educational options for low-income students.

They say these issues are important to them now more than ever because of COVID-19.

The group was unhappy with the way the state handled the money given to the state from the CARES act.

“It would have been really nice for all districts to have a say in where that money went,” said Breker. “There should have been an emergency legislative session to decide where this money should go. I think bringing everybody to the table instead of six white, affluent men making those decisions, we should have brought way more people to represent everybody in the state.”

Dakane, Wilkie and Breker want to be that voice for the underrepresented during these challenging times.

They are hoping to flip district 16 and bring additional democratic and female voices to the state legislature.