Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn, was able to avoid the recent fate of some of her other “Squad” members in Congress, coming away with the win in the Democrat primary for Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District on Tuesday.
The race featured another member of the so-called “Squad” facing off with a primary challenger, with Don Samuels, Abena McKenzie and Nate Schluter looking to make Omar the third member of the progressive group to lose a primary challenge in this cycle.
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The race featured a rematch between Omar and Samuels, who the incumbent representative narrowly escaped losing to in a 2022 primary challenge, inching out a win over Samuels by just under two percentage points before easily coasting to re-election in November.
The Democrat primary in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, which the Cook Political Report rates as “solid” Democrat, came amid a backdrop of primary defeats for Omar’s colleagues in the Squad, with Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., losing a primary challenge in June and Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., losing her primary earlier this month.
This time around, Omar’s camp felt more confident, with the incumbent not facing the onslaught of advertising by United Democracy Project, a super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. (AIPAC)
Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, which covers much of greater Minneapolis, has been represented by a Democrat in the House of Representatives since 1963, with Omar taking office in 2019.
The district has also been a dependable voting bloc for Democrats in presidential elections, with every race since 2000 going overwhelmingly to Democrat candidates.
