In stunning Trump rebuke, Montana elects Liberian refugee as state's first black mayor

In stunning Trump rebuke, Montana elects Liberian refugee as state’s first black mayor
As Trump tries to gin up fear and hate surrounding refugees arriving in the U.S., Helena elects a Liberian refugee as Montana's first black mayor.
By Eric Boehlert NOVEMBER 8, 2017

It was an election night filled with bad news for Donald Trump, and the losses came in all shapes and sizes. Not only did the Republican Party lose high-profile governor races in bellwether states that the GOP used to win, such as Virginia and New Jersey, but all sorts of smaller defeats piled up from coast to coast.

One of the more poignant came in the deeply red state of Montana, where Wilmot Collins, a black refugee from Liberia, was elected mayor of the state’s capitol of Helena. Collins ran as a progressive, and the local victory represented a stinging rebuke to Trump’s hateful anti-immigrant and anti-refugee message of fear that he’s been desperately trying to fan this year.

Collins, a progressive who unseated a 16-year incumbent, also became the first black mayor in Montana history.
Twelve months ago, Trump easily won Lewis and Clark County, the home of Helena, while sweeping the state by 21 points against Hillary Clinton.

Collins arrived in Helena 23 years ago as a refugee from Liberia, fleeing a civil war. He and his wife fled the country, “starving, dehydrated and sick.”

https://shareblue.com/in-stunning-trump-rebuke-montana-elects-liberian-refugee-as-states-first-black-mayor/