MINNEnews agenciesOLIS (news agencies) — 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 an 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 reported raising about $6.2 million. Samuels raised about $1.4 million.
Omar will face Republican Dalia Al-Aqidi, an Iraqi American journalist and self-described secular Muslim who calls Omar pro-Hamas.
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.
And former federal prosecutor Joe Teirab, supported by former President Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson and the National Republican Congressional Committee, won a contested GOP primary for Minnesota’s 2nd District seat held by Democratic Rep. Angie Craig.
His opponent, defense attorney Tayler Rahm, won the endorsement at the district convention with support from grassroots conservatives.
While Rahm announced in July that he was suspending his campaign and would instead serve as a senior adviser for Trump’s Minnesota campaign, he remained on the ballot.
Teirab will face Craig in what’s expected to be Minnesota’s most competitive House race in November.
“Tonight’s definitive results send a clear message that Republicans are united and ready for change,” Teirab said in a statement. “We are ready to support candidates who will strengthen our economy, secure the border, and restore safety in our communities.”
Craig issued a statement calling him “a guy who recently moved to the district because he saw a political opportunity.”
“He’s a guy who has spent months doing anything to win the support of Washington Republicans,” Craig said. “And he’s a guy who has made it his life’s mission to take away reproductive freedoms from families and give those decisions to politicians.”
In the U.S. Senate race, White — an ally of imprisoned former Trump aide Steve Bannon and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones — shocked many political observers when he defeated Fraser at the party convention for the GOP endorsement.
White’s social media comments have been denounced as misogynistic, homophobic, antisemitic and profane. His legal and financial problems include unpaid child support and questionable campaign spending, including $1,200 spent at a Florida strip club after he lost his primary challenge to Omar in 2022. He argues that, as a Black man, he can broaden the party’s base by appealing to voters of color in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and others disillusioned with establishment politics.
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