Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, one of the progressive House members known as the "Squad" and a sharp critic of how Israel has conducted the war in Gaza, has won her primary race in Minnesota.
Omar successfully defended her Minneapolis-area 5th District seat against a repeat challenge from former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels, a more centrist liberal whom she only narrowly defeated in the 2022 primary.
Speaking to supporters in Minneapolis, Omar echoed some of the themes of the Harris-Walz presidential campaign. "We run the politics of joy," she said. "Because we know it is joyful to fight for your neighbors. ... We know it is joyful to make sure housing is a human right. We know it is joyful to fight for health care to be a human right. We know it is joyful to want to live in a peaceful and equitable world."
Omar avoided the fate of two fellow Squad members. Rep. Cori Bush lost the Democratic nomination in her Missouri district last week, and Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York lost his primary in June. Both faced well-funded challengers and millions of dollars in spending by the United Democracy Project, a super political action committee affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which appeared to sit out the Minnesota race.
Samuels had criticized Omar's condemnation of the Israeli government's handling of the Israel-Hamas war. While Omar has also criticized Hamas for attacking Israel and taking hostages, Samuels said she's one-sided and divisive. He also stressed public safety issues in Minneapolis, where a former police officer murdered George Floyd in 2020.
Samuels said he was "very disappointed" with his loss. "What I was hoping is that a strong ground game and attention to the details of folks who felt left out would trump an overwhelming superiority in dollars," he said in an interview. "Clearly money matters a little more in politics than I had hoped."
Omar will face Republican Dalia Al-Aqidi, an Iraqi American journalist and self-described secular Muslim who calls Omar pro-Hamas.
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A Muslim supporter of Donald Trump during the Republican National Convention
(Photo: Elizabeth Frantz / Reuters)
Meanwhile, conservative populist and former NBA player Royce White defeated Navy veteran Joe Fraser in Minnesota's primary election for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar in November.