Yaphett El-Amin

Who is Yaphett El-Amin?

Yaphett El-Amin is an American politician who, until 2006, represented a portion of St. Louis in the Missouri House of Representatives. She is a Democrat.

El-Amin is a native of St. Louis. She graduated from the University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff with a BA in political science and is pursuing a masters degree in public administration at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville.

El-Amin entered politics in 1997, when she became Democratic Committeewoman for the 1st Ward. In 2002, she was a successful candidate for the Democratic nomination for State Representative in the 57th District. She was elected without opposition in the general election and was re-elected without opposition in 2004.

In 2006, El-Amin was an unsuccessful candidate to replace Pat Dougherty in the Missouri State Senate. She finished second in a heavily contested Democratic primary election behind political science instructor Jeff Smith. Other candidates in the race were fellow state representative Amber Boykins, former State Representative Derio Gambaro, and former St. Louis Alderman Kenny Jones. Her husband Talibdan El-Amin won a contentious primary and to become the Democratic party nominee to replace his wife in the Missouri House of Representatives. He was elected without opposition in the 2006 general election.