Tuesday's elections had the possibility of putting as many as three Somali candidates into elected office, carrying on the legacy of the late Hussein Samatar, but only one crossed the electoral threshold.

That was Abdi Warsame, the victor for City Council in the Sixth Ward, where he swamped incumbent Robert Lilligren, becoming the council's first Somali member.

But in Eden Prairie, Mushid Barud, finished a distant fifth in a school board race, while in Mankato, Abdi Sabrie was a distant fourth, for that district's board.

But the state may gain a second Somali in public office when it fills the seat of Samatar, who made history in 2010 as the state's first elected Somali. He died in August. Two Somalis, Ubah Ali Juma, who is Samatar';s widow, and Mohamud Noor, are among the four applicants competing to be appointed by the Minneapolis baord to the District seat on Tuesday. The other two applicants, Ira Jourdain and Nicque M. Mabrey, are of Indian heritage.

The appointee will be sworn in during the board's Dec.10 meeting, and serve through the end of 2014.

(Photo: Abdi Warsame)