Israel critic Ilhan Omar secures US primary victory, defends seat amid backlash

Democratic US Rep. Ilhan Omar has won her primary race in Minnesota.

Omar is one of the progressive House members known as the “Squad”. She successfully defended her Minneapolis-area 5th District seat against a repeat challenge from former City Council member Don Samuels in Tuesday’s primary.

She only narrowly defeated the more centrist liberal in the 2022 primary. Omar is a sharp critic of the Israeli government’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war. She avoided the fate of two fellow Squad members who lost their primaries against candidates backed by groups that support Israel.

Omar’s fellow Squad member 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 not facing a primary challenge is Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts.

Both Bush and Bowman faced well-funded challengers and millions of dollars in spending by the United Democracy Project, a super political action committee affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which appears to be sitting out the Minnesota race.

But Omar isn’t taking victory for granted. Omar reported spending $2.3 million before the 2022 primary. In the same period this year, she reported raising about $6.2 million. Samuels has raised about $1.4 million.

Omar — a Somali American and Muslim — came under fire from the Jamaican-born Samuels and others in her first term for comments that were widely criticised for invoking antisemitic tropes and suggesting Jewish Americans have divided loyalties. This time, Samuels has criticised her condemnation of the Israeli government’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

While Omar has also criticised Hamas for attacking Israel and taking hostages, Samuels says she’s one-sided and divisive. He’s also been stressing the public safety issues he focused on in 2022. The big issue at the time was policing in Minneapolis, where a former police officer murdered George Floyd in 2020..

The winner in the overwhelmingly Democratic district will face Republican Dalia Al-Aqidi, an Iraqi American journalist and self-described secular Muslim who calls Omar pro-Hamas and a terrorist sympathiser.

In the US Senate race, White — an ally of imprisoned former Trump aide Steve Bannon and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones — shocked many political observers when he defeated Fraser at the party convention for the GOP endorsement.

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

Fraser has said White’s confrontational style and message won’t attract the moderates and independents needed for a competitive challenge against Klobuchar, who’s seeking a fourth term. He said he offers a more mainstream approach, stressing fiscal conservativism, a strong defence, world leadership and small government. Fraser has 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 that Klobuchar has. White last reported raising $133,000, while Fraser has taken in $68,000. Klobuchar, meanwhile, has collected about $19 million this cycle and has more than $6 million available to spend on the general election campaign. She faced only nominal primary opposition.

Another clash between establishment and grassroots Republicans is playing out in western Minnesota’s 7th District. GOP Rep. Michelle Fischbach is considered one of the most conservative members of Congress and has Trump’s endorsement. But small businessman Steve Boyd, running to her right on a religious platform, blocked her from getting endorsement at the district convention. Boyd has reported spending $170,000, while Fischbach has spent over $1 million.