Rep. Ilhan Omar faces repeat primary challenge in Minnesota

By STEVE KARNOWSKI

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, one of many progressive Home members referred to as the “Squad” and a pointy critic of how Israel has performed the warfare in Gaza, is making an attempt to keep away from the destiny of two of her closest allies when Minnesota holds its primary elections Tuesday.

Omar is defending her Minneapolis-area fifth District seat against a repeat challenge from former Minneapolis Metropolis Council member Don Samuels, a extra centrist liberal whom she solely narrowly defeated within the 2022 main.

In the principle statewide race on the poll, conservative populist and former NBA player Royce White is going through a extra typical GOP candidate, Navy veteran Joe Fraser, for the proper to problem Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

In the meantime, two newcomers are in a bitter struggle for the GOP nomination to problem Democratic Rep. Angie Craig in November within the principally suburban 2nd District.

Omar’s fellow Squad member Rep. Cori Bush lost the Democratic nomination in Missouri final week. Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York lost his primary in June. The one constitution member not going through a main problem is Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts.

Each Bush and Bowman confronted well-funded challengers and tens of millions of {dollars} in spending by the United Democracy Challenge, an excellent political motion committee affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which seems to be sitting out the Minnesota race.

However Omar isn’t taking victory without any consideration. Omar reported spending $2.3 million earlier than the 2022 main. In the identical interval this yr, she reported elevating about $6.2 million. Samuels has raised about $1.4 million.

Omar — a Somali American and Muslim — got here below hearth from the Jamaican-born Samuels and others in her first time period for feedback that have been extensively criticized for invoking antisemitic tropes and suggesting Jewish People have divided loyalties. This time, Samuels has criticized her condemnation of the Israeli authorities’s dealing with of the Israel-Hamas war.

Whereas Omar has additionally criticized Hamas for attacking Israel and taking hostages, Samuels says she’s one-sided and divisive. He’s additionally been stressing the general public issues of safety he centered on in 2022. The massive situation on the time was policing in Minneapolis, the place a former police officer murdered George Floyd in 2020.

The winner within the overwhelmingly Democratic district will face Republican Dalia Al-Aqidi, an Iraqi American journalist and self-described secular Muslim who calls Omar pro-Hamas and a terrorist sympathizer.

Within the U.S. Senate race, White — an ally of imprisoned former Donald Trump aide Steve Bannon and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones — shocked many political observers when he defeated Fraser on the occasion conference for the GOP endorsement.

White’s social media feedback have been denounced as misogynistic, homophobic, antisemitic and profane. His authorized and monetary issues embody unpaid baby help and questionable marketing campaign spending, together with $1,200 spent at a Florida strip membership after he misplaced his main problem to Omar in 2022. He argues that, as a Black man, he can broaden the occasion’s base by interesting to voters of colour within the Minneapolis-St. Paul space and others disillusioned with institution politics.

Fraser has mentioned White’s confrontational fashion and message received’t entice the moderates and independents wanted for a aggressive problem towards Klobuchar, who’s in search of a fourth time period. He mentioned he provides a extra mainstream strategy, stressing fiscal conservativism, a powerful protection, world management and small authorities. Fraser has additionally highlighted his 26 years within the Navy, the place he was an intelligence officer and served a fight tour in Iraq.