‘Squad’ Member Ilhan Omar Narrowly Defeats Moderate Opponent In Democratic Primary

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Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has defeated former Minneapolis city councilman Don Samuels in the Democratic primary for her Minneapolis-based House seat, fending off the moderate challenger, who had the support of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D).

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) speaks to reporters during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington … [+] on November 30, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Key Facts

The AP called the race for Omar at 11:47 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday, with an estimated 99% of the vote counted.

Omar led with 50.3% of the vote, followed by Samuels at 48.2%.

Samuels conceded the race to Omar earlier Tuesday night, telling his supporters, “I’m here to say that we have come so close.”

Omar is expected to cruise to victory over the Republican nominee in the general election for Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District—the Cook Political Report gives Democrats a 30-percentage-point advantage over Republicans there.

Key Background

Omar banded together in 2018 in the “Squad” with three other progressive first-term female House members who are regarded as the most hard-left lawmakers in the chamber. The group grew to six after the 2020 election. She was the third member of the group to face a well-funded primary challenger this year, after Reps. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who cruised to renomination in their contests. Samuel contrasted himself with Omar on issues like her support of the “defund the police” movement, which has been a common theme for moderate attacks on progressives this election cycle. Omar strongly supported a referendum last year to abolish the Minneapolis Police Department and replace it with a Department of Public Safety, which was overwhelmingly rejected by voters. Samuels was one of the leading figures who campaigned against replacing the police department.

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