Rep. Ilhan Omar Wins Democratic Primary in Minnesota

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) speaks at the Minnesota Congressional District 5 Democrat Farmer Labor party’s Nominating Convention in Minneapolis, Minn., on May 11, 2024. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

MINNEAPOLIS—Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has won the Democratic primary in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District after fending 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, won the primary with 56.2 percent of the vote, according to the Associated Press. She defeated former Minnesota City Council Member Don Samuels, her principal opponent, who won 42.9 percent.

“This campaign has been one of the ugliest, most disgusting campaigns against me that I have ever witnessed,” Omar remarked at her election night victory party at Nighthawks bar in Minneapolis.

She said that the campaign overcame a “massive number of Republicans voting in our primary, egged on by every single Republican influencer across the country.” Minnesota does not register voters by party affiliation and allows all voters to participate in one party’s primary election.

Omar and Samuels previously faced each other in the 2022 Democratic Primary, which was narrowly decided. Omar won that primary by 2.15 percent of the vote.

The latest 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. She has been critical of Israel and has 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-Palestinian protest site at Columbia University in New York in April. “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.

“I believe Israel has a right to defend itself,” Samuels told The Epoch Times after casting his vote in the primary at Minneapolis’s Capri Theater. “Now, we have seen enough carnage, especially women and children being killed. It’s beyond what we can handle ... we need a cease-fire, we need a transformation to a negotiated settlement.”

Samuels also called for a two-state solution and a “Marshall Plan-like” restoration of Gaza.

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 those two progressives.

At her election night party, The Epoch Times asked Omar how her campaign differed from the Bush and Bowman campaigns. She did not respond.

AIPAC reportedly did not spend money to back Samuels, according to his campaign. Samuels raised more than $1.4 million for his campaign, according to the FEC, while Omar raised more than $6.7 million.

The Epoch Times spoke with dozens of voters across the district for their views on Omar and the primary contest.

“I like her spunk and I don’t think she’s done a bad job so far,” Carrie Thompson, a voter in uptown Minneapolis, told The Epoch Times.

“I like her stance on the Palestinian people ... we shouldn’t be providing Israel with bombs to, pretty much, kill innocent people,” added Thompson’s husband, Shawn Jefferson.

Laura Tablish, a voter and Omar supporter, told The Epoch Times that she has attended debates involving Samuels, “and I don’t trust him at all.”

“He goes by ‘Democrat,’ but he’s very conservative, and I don’t necessarily think that we need conservatives.”

Laura Tablish, an administrative assistant and 23-year resident of Minneapolis, voted in the Democratic primary for Minnesota's 5th Congressional District on Aug. 13, 2024. (Arjun Singh/The Epoch Times)

“I don’t appreciate some of the status quo that we’ve taken in the Middle East, and I think having a voice for other groups is important,” said Matthew, a voter at Minneapolis’s Willard-Hay neighborhood, to The Epoch Times when asked why he supported Omar.

“I like the immigrant story. My family is full of immigrants as well, so I see her, as well. She’s relatable,” said Melanie Oi, a voter in Minneapolis’s downtown area. “I just want someone in office that I can relate to, that understands the issues that people like us are going through.”

Some voters who supported Samuels were critical of Omar’s rhetoric on Gaza and Israel, as well as her positions on police reform. Omar previously backed “disbanding” the Minneapolis Police Department after the death of George Floyd in 2020.

“I think she’s very one-sided, as far as I’m concerned. Everything seems to be kind of for the South side of town. I just don’t see her as being full[ly] representative,” said Tom Andrew Jack, a veteran and resident of Northeastern Minneapolis. On Omar’s rhetoric about Gaza, he said, “It’s wrong to be involved in that, as far I’m concerned. I think there are local things here that need to be resolved ... I can’t stand behind anyone who wants to devalue police and stuff like that”

“Omar has the bad habit of making anti-Semitic statements. Then she has to go back and apologize for them, and that makes her look, you know, racist and not good,” said Kevin Jorgensen, a voter in downtown Minneapolis. “When she first ran, I voted for her, but then I decided to give Samuels a chance,” he said.

Kevin Jorgensen, a 41-year resident of Minneapolis, supported Don Samuels in the Democratic Primary for Minnesota's 5th Congressional District on Aug. 13, 2024. (Arjun Singh/The Epoch Times)

“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 area of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, where Floyd died. “This [place] could look a lot better four years later.”

Rep. Fischbach Fends Off GOP Primary Challenge

In Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District, Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-Minn.) was called the winner of the Republican primary election on Tuesday night, fending off a challenge from a populist candidate. She won with 64.7 percent of the vote.

Fischbach, a two-term member of Congress who unseated 30-year incumbent Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) in 2020, defeated Steve Boyd, a business owner and homeschool parent.

Fischbach was endorsed by former President Donald Trump and a host of prominent congressional leaders, such as House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.). However, she was not endorsed by the Minnesota Republican Party, with delegates from her district declining to officially endorse a candidate for the nomination.

Fischbach has emphasized her pro-life record, support for the Second Amendment and border security, and renegotiating trade deals to benefit farmers.

Boyd’s campaign, similarly, emphasized agriculture and social issues as his top priorities.

Fischbach’s victory makes her the likely winner of the general election in November. Minnesota’s 7th District is heavily Republican.