Samba Baldeh, who became the first Muslim and Gambian-American elected to the Wisconsin legislature and probably the first Gambian-American elected to any statehouse is running for an open Wisconsin state senate seat. "Smile often, be a good listener, combined with hard work and compassion," are lessons the Choya, Central River Division, The Gambia native says he brought with him from Africa’s Smiling Coast more than 30 years ago.

Baldeh initially won the election in November 2020 and was re-elected in 2022. Before his two terms in the Wisconsin Assembly, Baldeh, who walked six miles to attend school as a child and served as an alder on the Madison Common Council for six years, served one of those terms as council president.

As an entrepreneur , Baldeh and Jerreh Kujabi, a fellow network engineer, opened Gooh Grocery, on Madison’s East Side to bring more healthy alternatives and culturally relevant foods to the community in January. Gooh, means “one” in Fulani.

West African, Indian, Mexican, and Halal foods line the store shelves with staples from each culture. The deli area stocks cold cuts of beef, lamb, and goat — meats popular in Madison’s growing West African and Southeast Asian communities.

“I am looking forward to this campaign and having an opportunity to meet the residents of Dane,  Jefferson, and Dodge counties. This is a diverse district comprising suburban, rural, and urban communities, each with its own needs and prospects for positive change. I will continue to listen and work hard to represent the constituents of the senate district as I did in the Assembly and Common Council,” says Samba, who also goes by the common nickname for Samba, Batch.

From Our Archives:   Samba Baldeh Seeks to Become Wisconsin’s First Gambian-American State Legislature

POH PODCAST Archives:  Samba Baldeh