Anika Begay
In this file photo, Representative Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on September 20, 2023 in Washington, DC.
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Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar notched a victory Tuesday night in her primary race against her main rival, former Minneapolis City Councilman Don Samuels, according to an Associated Press announcement.
Omar is one of the progressive House members known as the “Squad” and has been a scathing critic of Israel’s conduct of its war in Gaza. She has managed to avoid the losses suffered by Squad members Reps. Cori Bush of Missouri and Jamaal Bowman of New York. Both of her primary opponents in those races were backed by the super PAC, United Democracy Project, the political arm of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
In her acceptance speech to supporters in Minneapolis, Omar began by expressing joy at the results, but quickly changed her mind.
“This campaign has been one of the ugliest, most disgusting campaigns against me that I have ever seen,” Omar said. “I hope they reflect the shameful way they chose to divide our district and the incredible people we are grateful to represent.”
This wasn’t the first showdown between Omar and Samuels. Samuels came within two percentage points of losing in 2022. He was defeated again on Tuesday, trailing Omar by more than 10 percentage points.
He presented himself as a more centrist candidate than Omar and has often called her divisive for her comments on the war in Gaza.
He also criticized her for voting against President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure bill. Omar, meanwhile, pointed to congressional appropriations that she said brought back to her community.
The congresswoman had a substantial fundraising advantage over Samuels and had the backing of the Minnesota Democratic Party. Her campaign also brought in national political figures like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who held a campaign rally at his high school alma mater.
Federal campaign records show that pro-Israel groups have had no discernible financial presence in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District race. Samuels says he saw a surge in donations after Rep. Bush’s loss in St. Louis last week.
“We’ve received about $200,000 in random donations since Cori [Bush] “Lost,” Samuels said Tuesday afternoon as he spoke to voters in downtown Minneapolis. “There’s a movement going on here and in other parts of the country away from the far left and toward a more collaborative style,” Samuels said.
Omar is likely to face little opposition in the general election. Democrats have a large voter registration advantage over Republicans in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District.
