MINNEAPOLIS—Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is the projected winner of the Democratic primary in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District. She fended off a challenge from a moderate Democrat in a close contest.
Omar, who has represented the district that covers most of metropolitan Minneapolis for three terms, defeated former Minnesota City Council Member Don Samuels, her principal opponent.
Omar and Samuels previously faced each other in the 2022 Democratic Primary, which was narrowly decided. Omar won that primary with just 2.15 percent of the vote.
The victory makes Omar the likely winner of the general election on Nov. 5 as Minnesota’s 5th District is among the most Democratic-leaning districts in the country, with a Cook Partisan Voting Index score of D+30. The Republican primary in the district was uncontested, with former journalist Dalia Al-Aqidi being the unopposed GOP candidate running in November.
Omar is the first Somali-American and hijab-wearing lawmaker elected to Congress and is a member of the “Squad”—a group of progressive House Democrats who are ethnic minorities. She has been critical of Israel, and even charged that the Jewish state is committing a “genocide” in Gaza.
“I had the honor of seeing the Columbia University anti-war encampment firsthand,” Omar said on social media while visiting the pro-Palestine protst site at the Columbia University in New York in April. “Contrary to right-wing attacks, these students are joyfully protesting for peace and an end to the genocide taking place in Gaza.”
Samuels took a different position from Omar on Gaza during the campaign by emphasizing Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorists.
“The death and destruction in Israel and the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7th, 2023 terrorist attacks has been devastating. I believe in the humanity of all Israeli and Palestinian people,” wrote Samuels on his website. “We all must be able to recognize the trauma suffered by Israelis in the wake of the Hamas terrorist attack, as well as Palestinian suffering in the conflict since then.”
Omar’s win comes as two of her Squad colleagues, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), were defeated in recent primary elections by more centrist challengers who took positions in support of Israel’s actions against Hamas in Gaza. The America Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and its affiliated political groups spent millions of dollars to unseat the progressives.
At her election night party, The Epoch Times asked Omar how her campaign differed from Bush and Bowman, enabling her to win. She did not respond.
AIPAC reportedly did not spend money to back Samuels, according to his campaign. Samuels raised over $1.4 million for his campaign, according to the FEC, whereas Omar raised over $6.7 million.
Several voters in Minneapolis who spoke with The Epoch Times expressed varying opinions about Omar and the contest.
“Ilhan has been in it for a while … she’s Somali, and she’s a female, and a Muslim and all of that. I don’t know what would this other gentleman bring,” said Hibo Firin, a worker in the Ceder-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis, often known as “Little Somalia” and an Omar stronghold.
“I’m still kind of slightly undecided, but due to [Samuels’s] age, he’s 75, I’m thinking I’m going to stay with her,'” Georgia Scott, a Democratic voter in South Minneapolis who lives near the site of George Floyd’s death, told The Epoch Times the day before the election. “[Samuels] might have a more well-rounded approach to handling adversity,” she added.
“Ilhan Omar has an office space a couple of blocks away … [yet] I don’t see change right here,” said Marquise Bowie, a community organizer in the same neighborhood. “This [place] could look a lot better four years later.”
Crime and drug use were the issues most frequently mentioned by voters to The Epoch Times as affecting their electoral decisions. “It’s definitely a big issue … It’s not very safe over here, really,” Kaylon King, a student at the University of Minnesota and a Minnesota National Guardsman, told The Epoch Times.
Stephen Cantrew, a resident of the Dinkytown neighborhood of East Minneapolis, told The Epoch Times, said he is concerned about the crime rate, and that it’s related to “police defunding,” an issue championed by Omar.
From The Epoch Times