Rep. Ilhan Omar speaks after winning the primary at Nighthawks in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. Kerem Yücel/MPR News
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.
At a victory speech to supporters Tuesday night in Minneapolis, Omar began by saying her campaign runs on “the politics of joy” and that she is “incredibly honored by this victory [and] honored to represent the people who welcomed me and my family as refugees to this incredible state.”
She then pivoted and offered an assessment of the primary race.
“This campaign has been one of the ugliest, most disgusting campaigns against me that I have ever witnessed,” Omar said. “I hope they reflect in the shameful way they decided to divide our district and the incredible people we are grateful to represent.”
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 on Tuesday, trailing Omar by more than 10 percentage points.
He ran as more of a centrist than Omar and regularly called her divisive for her comments about the war in Gaza.
He also criticized her for voting against President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure bill. Omar, meanwhile, pointed to congressional earmarks she said she brought back to her community.
The Congresswoman 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.
Omar 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.
