In this file photo, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., 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 pulled off a win Tuesday night in her primary race against her main rival, former Minneapolis city councilman Don Samuels, according to a race call by the Associated Press.
Omar is one of the progressive House members known as the “Squad” and has been a sharp critic of how Israel has conducted its war in Gaza. She managed to avoid losses faced by fellow squad members, Reps. Cori Bush of Missouri and Jamaal Bowman of New York. Both primary opponents in those races were backed by the super PAC, United Democracy Project, the political arm of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
This was not the first matchup between Omar and Samuels. Samuels came just two percentage points short of defeating her in 2022. He again came up short, trailing Omar by more than 10 percentage points.
He ran as more of a centrist and regularly called Omar divisive for her comments about the Middle East and pointed out that she voted against President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure bill.
Omar had a substantial fundraising advantage over Samuels and had the endorsement of Minnesota’s Democratic Party. Her campaign also brought in national political figures like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who held a campaign rally at her high school alma mater.
Federal campaign records show pro-Israel groups didn’t have a noticeable financial presence in the race in Minnesota’s 5th congressional district. Samuels says he saw a burst of donations following Rep. Bush’s loss in St. Louis last week.
“We had about $200,000 dollars in random donations after Cori [Bush] lost,” Samuels said Tuesday afternoon as he talked to voters in downtown Minneapolis. “There’s a movement happening here and other parts of the country away from the far left to a more collaborative style,” Samuels said.
The winner of the primary is likely to face little opposition in the general election. Democrats have a major voter registration advantage over Republicans in Minnesota’s 5th congressional district.
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