US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a member of progressive ‘Squad,’ faces re-challenge in Minnesota primary

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, one of the progressive members of the House of Representatives generally known as “The Squad” and a sharp critic of Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza, is attempting to avoid the fate of two of her closest allies when Minnesota holds its primary on Tuesday.

Omar is defending her seat in the Minneapolis-area fifth Congressional District against a second challenge from former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels, a more centrist liberal whom she defeated by a slim margin in the 2022 primary.

In the state’s primary race on the ballot, conservative populist and former NBA player Royce White will face a more conventional GOP candidate, Navy veteran Joe Fraser, for the precise to challenge Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

Meanwhile, two newcomers are locked in a tight battle for the Republican Party nomination to challenge Democratic Rep. Angie Craig in November in the mostly suburban 2nd District.

Omar’s Squad mate, Rep. Cori Bush, lost the Democratic nomination in Missouri last week. Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York lost his primary in June. The only charter member who didn’t face a primary challenge is Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts.

Both Bush and Bowman faced well-funded rivals and tens of millions of dollars in spending from the United Democracy Project, a political motion super committee affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee that is outwardly not in the Minnesota nomination race.

But Omar isn’t taking victory with no consideration. Omar reported spending $2.3 million ahead of the 2022 primary. During the identical period this 12 months, she reported raising about $6.2 million. Samuels raised about $1.4 million.

Omar — a Somali American and Muslim — has come under fire from Jamaican-born Samuels and others in her first term for comments which have been widely criticized for drawing on anti-Semitic tropes and suggesting that Jewish Americans have divided loyalties. This time, Samuels has criticized her condemnation of the Israeli government’s handling of Israel’s war with Hamas.

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While Omar has also criticized Hamas for attacking Israel and taking hostages, Samuels says her criticism is one-sided and divisive. He has also emphasized public issues of safety, which he has focused on in 2022. The biggest issue on the time was police work in Minneapolis, where a former officer killed George Floyd in 2020.

The winner in the majority-Democratic district will face Republican Dalia Al-Aqidi, an Iraqi American journalist and self-identified secular Muslim who views Omar as a Hamas supporter and terrorist sympathizer.

In the race for the U.S. Senate seat, White — an ally of imprisoned former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones — shocked many political observers when he defeated Fraser on the party convention and won the Republican Party endorsement.

White’s social media comments have been condemned as misogynistic, homophobic, anti-Semitic and profane. His legal and financial troubles include unpaid child support and questionable campaign spending, including $1,200 spent at a Florida strip club after his 2022 primary loss to Omar. He argues that as a black man, he can broaden the party’s voter base by appealing to voters of color in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and others disillusioned with establishment politics.

Fraser said White’s confrontational style and message wouldn’t attract the moderates and independents needed to compete with Klobuchar, who’s looking for a fourth term. He said he offers a more mainstream approach, emphasizing fiscal conservatism, a strong defense, global leadership and small government. Fraser also highlighted his 26 years in the Navy, where he was an intelligence officer and served a combat tour in Iraq.

Neither has anywhere near the resources Klobuchar has. White last reported raising $133,000, while Fraser raised $68,000. Klobuchar, meanwhile, has raised about $19 million this cycle and has greater than $6 million available to spend on her campaign. She faces only nominal opposition in the primary.

Craig is preparing for essentially the most competitive race for Minnesota House of Representatives in November, with former federal prosecutor Joe Teirab and defense attorney Tayler Rahm vying to challenge her. Teirab has the backing of Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson and the National Republican Congressional Committee. He was higher financed than Rahm, who won his endorsement on the district convention with the support of grassroots conservatives.

Although Rahm announced in July that he was suspending his campaign and would as an alternative function a senior adviser to the Trump campaign in Minnesota, he’ll still run and has not completely ended his campaign.

Another showdown between establishment and grassroots Republicans is playing out in western Minnesota’s seventh District. GOP Rep. Michelle Fischbach is taken into account one of essentially the most conservative members of Congress and has Trump’s backing. But small-time businessman Steve Boyd, who ran to her right on a religious platform, blocked her from getting an endorsement on the district convention. Boyd reported spending $170,000, while Fischbach spent greater than $1 million.