ISD 196 Race: Mohamed Declares Victory, Rylander Concedes

DAKOTA COUNTY, MN — Sakawdin Mohamed has declared victory in the race for ISD 196's School Board and one of his 12 opponents Jacob Rylander has conceded.

With all votes cast and counted, Mohamed, Bianca Virnig and Art Coulson are in the lead, according to unofficial race results.

Mohamed ended the night with 9,783 votes.

Virnig ended the night with 9,623 votes.

Coulson ended the night with 9,211 votes.

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"I want to say thank you for your support and confidence in me," Mohamed shared on his campaign's Facebook page. "We have a lot to do and accomplish together. I thank you again for caring about our district and future for all our students. Let’s all please commit as I am to get things done for our school district – to make all our students safer, smarter and healthier. Let’s all work together to bring us together to strengthen our communities."

Rylander conceded via his campaign's Facebook page.

"YOU DECIDED… I offer my sincerest congratulations to Sakawdin Mohamed, Bianca Virnig and Art Coulson on being elected to our school board," he wrote. "While I had personally hoped and advocated for a different outcome, I fully respect the process and hope these newly elected representatives will make an effort to address the issues that currently divide us. Only by building a bridge can we collectively ensure the brightest future for our students and community."

You can see the rest of the race results and candidate profiles here.