U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar has successfully defended her position against former Minneapolis City Councilman Don Samuels in the primary election held on Tuesday, as indicated by unofficial election results.
Omar’s victory is a significant achievement for progressive factions in Minneapolis and voices opposing Israel’s military actions in Gaza. While two members of the “Squad” were recently defeated in Democratic primaries due to pro-Israel activist efforts, Omar appears poised to secure another term in Congress with minimal challenge in the upcoming November election.
The primary contest in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District did not see the high levels of outside funding that characterized other recent Squad primaries.
Samuels had previously lost to Omar in the 2022 primary by a narrow margin of approximately 2 percentage points. This year, he argued that Omar’s attention-grabbing advocacy has resulted in ineffective leadership for the city’s pressing issues.
Preliminary results suggest that Omar’s margin of victory this time will exceed that of 2022.
In her remarks during her election night celebration, Omar described the campaign as one of the most severe and troubling she has encountered, claiming, “We had an opponent that was willing to align with literal Nazis in order to defeat us.”
After ignoring Samuels’ 2022 campaign, which nearly resulted in her defeat, Omar intensified her efforts this year. According to a July campaign finance report, she allocated $450,000 for advertising leading up to the primary.
Currently in her third term, Omar has juggled being a prominent progressive advocate in Washington while handling typical congressional duties, such as assisting constituents with federal processes, voting on legislation unlikely to pass given her party’s minority status, and supporting local businesses and nonprofits within her district.
Omar is hopeful that a Democratic majority in the House will allow her to resume her position on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, from which she was removed by the Republican majority amid allegations of antisemitism, despite unanimous support from her peers, including Jewish Democratic colleagues.
Voter Katherine Byrn, a 53-year-old University of Minnesota teacher, expressed her support for Omar, stating she believes Omar “kicks ass.” Similarly, Kerry Newstrom, a 45-year-old high school teacher in northeast Minneapolis, emphasized the need for more women in office, referring to herself as a “childless cat lady” in response to remarks made by Republican vice presidential nominee U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance.