Progressives in the House of Representatives won a much-needed victory Tuesday night when Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) won (*5*)her first week after her “Squad” colleague, Representative Cori Bush (Democrat, Missouri), lost hers.
Unlike the primaries of Bush and the recently ousted Rep. Jamaal Bowman (DN.Y.), Omar’s campaign did not require the involvement of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) despite her vocal criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza. Nevertheless, it was a test of the strength of the progressive wing within the Democratic Party.
Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, the last critical Senate elections and at least one critical race for a seat in the House of Representatives were decided.
Here are five takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries:
Omar gives “Squad” much-needed victory
The group of progressive lawmakers known as the “Squad” won a much-needed victory when Omar (*5*)held the same Main challenger for the second cycle in a row.
Omar almost lost in a surprise election two years ago when former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels came within 2,500 votes of ousting her, despite the fact that Omar had garnered significantly more votes than him and was also more well-known.
Samuels decided to face Omar in a rematch this year. With progressives facing increased scrutiny for their criticism of Israel’s war following Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on the country, Omar seemed to be in a potentially vulnerable position.
He accused her of causing too much trouble and not focusing on her constituency, but argued that he could have more impact in the House of Representatives.
But this time, several factors worked in Omar’s favor. She again raised much more money than Samuels, but this time she also spent more than he did, an obvious acknowledgement that something must be done to avoid a surprise victory. Equally significant, AIPAC stayed out of her primary.
Progressive forces can breathe a sigh of relief after her victory, but Samuels still managed to garner around 43 percent of the vote, a considerable share for a challenger in the primaries who had raised and spent a lot of money.
The last gigantic Senate race is coming up
The last of the remaining major Senate duels this fall was officially set on Tuesday in Wisconsin, where businessman Eric Hovde officially secured the Republican nomination to face incumbent Senator Tammy Baldwin (D).
Hovde straightforward sent two smaller primary opponent for the nomination. He had the support of former President Trump, several top GOP figures and the Republican campaign team in the Senate. The race will be particularly crucial for the Democrats if the party wants to have a chance of maintaining its narrow majority in the Senate.
Hovde faces a challenge in his race against Baldwin, a popular incumbent who has already served two terms and has twice been elected by comfortable margins in a swing state. One advantage Hovde will have in the race is his personal wealth, acquired through his banking career.
He has already loaned his campaign $13 million.
But Democrats have tried to impeach him because of his wealth and Connections to Californiawhere he owned a bank. The campaign arm of the Democrats in the Senate published an ad calls him a “California moron,” shortly after winning the nomination.
Hovde and Republicans have since linked Baldwin to the Biden administration, particularly on issues of inflation and immigration.
Democrats score gigantic victory in Wisconsin
Voters in Wisconsin two popular initiatives rejected that the Republican-led legislature had put forward a proposal that would have circumscribed the Democratic governor’s power in budgetary matters.
One of these measures would have prohibited the state legislature from delegating its authority to distribute funds to other governmental entities. Another measure would have required the governor to obtain approval from the legislature before distributing federal funds to the state.
Lawmakers passed them twice before putting them to voters for a vote, as required by the state constitution. They were passed after the state had already received millions in stimulus money that Wisconsin’s Democratic governor, Tony Evers, was supposed to disburse to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Republicans argued that the legislature should have control over how the funds are used, while Democrats, including Evers, condemned the measures as an attempt to gain power in the House.
The measures also drew criticism because they would have added an additional step in the funding allocation process, even though federal funds are often allocated to deal with natural disasters and other emergencies.
Voters ultimately rejected both measures by fairly comfortable margins; 57 percent voted against them at the time of publication. The measures were the latest development in a long-running battle between Evers and the Republican-dominated legislature.
Trump-backed candidate wins narrowly
A candidate supported by Trump was barely able to fill a vacant seat in a consistently red district in a primary election.
Former Rep. Mike Gallagher (R) represented Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District for seven years before deciding not to seek re-election and resigning in April to take a job in the private sector. His resignation triggered a special election to fill the remainder of his term, held on the same days as the primary and general election to decide who will hold his seat for the next term.
Trump endorsed businessman and former gas station owner Tony Wied, as well as Reps. Byron Donalds (Republican of Florida) and Kevin Hern (Republican of Oklahoma), but two other major candidates in the primary also received notable support.
Former Wisconsin Senate President Roger Roth was endorsed by former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R) and Representative Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wis.) and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. State Senator André Jacque received endorsements from Representative Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) and Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R).
But Wied spent more and raised more than his two opponents, winning the special primary for the remainder of Gallagher’s term and the regular primary for the next term, although he narrowly defeated Roth.
A moderate Democrat will run against Van Orden
Another battle between moderates and progressives played out in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, where Democrats are running against Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) in the primary.
Entrepreneur Rebecca Cooke narrowly defeated MP Katrina Shankland Race for the nominationCooke enjoyed the support of centrists such as Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and the Blue Dog Coalition, while Shankland was supported by progressive groups and unions such as MoveOn and the Wisconsin AFL-CIO.
Cooke will face a close Trump ally, Van Orden, who ran unopposed for the GOP nomination. The first-term congressman was present at Trump’s rally before the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Decision Desk HQ and Cook Political Report both project the seat to be Republican-leaning, but Democrats hope to intercept Van Orden as part of their effort to retake the House majority. A moderate Democrat, former Rep. Ron Kind, had represented the district for decades before retiring ahead of Van Orden’s election in 2022.
