Aug. 14 (UPI) — Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, an original member of the progressive so-called Squad, claimed victory in her primary race late Tuesday as unofficial state results show she was poised to maintain her Democratic Party nomination for the state’s 5th District.
“Tonight, special interests lost and our movement won,” she said on X. “This seat is for all of us. I will continue to take our hopes and dreams to the People’s House.”
According to unofficial state results, with 100% of precincts reporting, Omar won 56.2% of the vote, representing nearly 68,000 ballots, besting Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels, who earned nearly 52,000 votes for 43% of the vote share. Two other candidates running — Nate Schluter and Abena McKenzie — failed to crack .5% of ballots cast.
The contest is the second time that Omar beat Samuels for the Democratic nomination though by a larger margin. In 2022, She only won by fewer than 2,500 votes.
Her victory comes on the heels of two members of the Squad — Reps. Jamaal Bowman of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri — losing their nominations in recent weeks due to the Democratic Party’s fissures over the Israel-Hamas war.
Bowman lost late June to 70-year-old Westchester County Executive George Latimer who entered the contest to support Jewish leaders angry over Bowman’s criticism of Israel and vocal support for Palestinians.
At a record $24.8 million spent on political advertising, the House primary race was the most expensive in history, according to AdImpact Politics, which tracks political ads and ad spending. The United Democracy Project, which is affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee lobby, spent $14.8 million, it said.
Bush is also a critic of Israel, and her stance attracted millions of dollars to the race. AdImpact said of the race’s $19.1 million spent, Bush was only responsible for $4.2 million with her challenger, St. Louis County prosecutor Wesley Bell, taking up the remainder. The United Democracy Project had poured more than $9.2 million into Bell’s campaign, which gave Bush a deficit of 3.5 to 1.
In contrast, the Minnesota 5th District race only saw $3 million in total ad spending, 92% of which was done by Omar, the political ads and ad spending organization said, adding that AIPAC spent only $19,000 against Omar.
In total more than $54 million has been spent in primary districts where members of the Squad were running this year.
With the win, Omar will face off against Dalia Al-Aqidi, who ran for the Republican nomination uncontested.
The Squad began as a four-member House group of Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Omar, but grew to include Bowman, Bush and several others.