MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, one of the House progressives known as the “Squad” and a fierce critic of Israel’s war in Gaza, has won her primary in Minnesota.
Omar successfully defended her Minneapolis-area 5th District seat against a renewed challenge from former Minneapolis City Councilman Don Samuels, a more centrist liberal whom she narrowly defeated in the 2022 primary.
In a speech to his supporters in Minneapolis, Omar reiterated some of the themes of Harris and Walz’s presidential campaign.
“We practice politics of joy,” she said. “Because we know that it is joyful to fight for your neighbors. … We know that it is joyful to ensure that housing is a human right. We know that it is joyful to fight for health care to be a human right. We know that it is joyful to want to live in a peaceful and just world.”
Omar escaped the fate of two of his squadmates. 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 in spending from the United Democracy Project, a political action committee affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee that apparently sat out the Minnesota race.
Samuels had criticized Omar’s condemnation of the Israeli government’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas. While Omar also criticized Hamas for attacks on Israel and hostage-taking, Samuels said it was one-sided and divisive. He also highlighted public safety issues in Minneapolis, where a former police officer murdered George Floyd in 2020.
Samuels said he was “very disappointed” with his defeat.
“I had hoped that strong grassroots work and attention to the details of people who felt left out would offset an overwhelming superiority in dollars,” he said in an interview. “Obviously money plays a little bit more of a role 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 Omar describes as pro-Hamas.
Meanwhile, conservative populist and former NBA player Royce White defeated Navy veteran Joe Fraser in the Minnesota primary for the Republican nomination to face Democratic U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar in November.
And former federal prosecutor Joe Teirab, backed by former President Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson and the National Republican Congressional Committee, won a contested Republican primary for Minnesota’s 2nd District seat held by Democratic Rep. Angie Craig.
His opponent, defense attorney Taylor Rahm, was able to win support at the district convention with the support of the conservative base.
Although Rahm announced in July that he would put his campaign on hold and instead serve as a senior adviser to Trump’s Minnesota campaign, he remained on the ballot.
Teirab will face Craig in November in what is expected to be the most competitive race for a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives.
“Tonight’s final 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 to our communities.”
Craig issued a statement describing him as “a guy who recently moved to the district because he saw a political opportunity.”
“He’s a man who has spent months doing everything he can to gain the support of Republicans in Washington,” Craig said. “And he’s a man who has made it his life’s work to take away families’ reproductive freedoms and leave those decisions to politicians.”
In the U.S. Senate race, White – an ally of imprisoned former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones – shocked many political observers when he defeated Fraser at the convention and urged Republicans to support his party.
White’s social media comments have been denounced as misogynistic, homophobic, anti-Semitic and blasphemous. His legal and financial troubles include unpaid child support and questionable campaign spending, including $1,200 spent at a Florida strip club after losing his 2022 primary to Omar. He argues that as a Black man, he can broaden the party’s base by appealing to voters of color in the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul area and others disillusioned with establishment politics.
After his victory, White said in a post on social media platform X: “Bring it on, communists… The people are coming.”
Democratic leaders condemned him as a right-wing extremist.
“While Royce White’s language and policies aim to divide Minnesotans, Senator Amy Klobuchar is focused on bringing people together to get things done, and she is consistently ranked as one of the most bipartisan and effective legislators in the Senate,” Ken Martin, chairman of the state Democratic Party, said in a statement. “The choice this November couldn’t be clearer.”
Fraser had previously stated that White’s confrontational style and message would not attract the moderates and independents needed to mount a competitive challenge to Klobuchar, who is seeking a fourth term. He said he has taken a more mainstream approach, emphasizing fiscal conservatism, a forceful defense, global leadership and petite government. Fraser has also highlighted his 26 years in the Navy, where he was an intelligence officer and served in combat duty in Iraq.
Neither of them had anywhere near the resources Klobuchar has at her disposal. White recently reported $133,000, while Fraser took in $68,000. Klobuchar has raised around $19 million this legislative session and can spend more than $6 million on the campaign trail. She had only nominal opponents in the primaries.
Another clash between establishment and grassroots Republicans took place in the 7th District in western Minnesota. Trump-backed Republican Rep. Michelle Fischbach, considered one of the most conservative members of Congress, defeated petite business owner Steve Boyd. Boyd stood to her right, using religious arguments to prevent her from gaining support at the district convention. Boyd reported spending $170,000, while Fischbach spent over a million dollars.
In Tuesday’s primary, Democrats selected former Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart to challenge Republican Kathleen Fowke in a nail-biting race that will determine not only which party controls the Senate but also whether Democrats retain their narrow “trifecta” control of both chambers and the governorship. Democrats used that power to push through an ambitious program over the past two years that helped put Gov. Tim Walz on Vice President Kamala Harris’ radar before she named him her running mate.
It will be the state’s only Senate seat up for grabs on the November ballot. The seat in the western suburbs of Minneapolis was held by Democrat Kelly Morrison, who will now face Republican Tad Jude for the seat in Minnesota’s 3rd Congressional District.
___
This story has been updated to correct that Angie Craig represents the 2nd District, not the 1st District.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the 2024 election at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.
