Diligent Ilhan Omar, the Democratic incumbent of Minnesota’s 5th congressional district, is running for reelection this year, but she will face tough competition in the primary from three strong contenders.
Don Samuels, a former member of the Minneapolis City Council, declared he would run against progressive Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) in the 2022 primary after suffering a close defeat in the previous round.
Samuels, a moderate Democrat, announced his plan to challenge Omar for the congressional seat. In 2022, Omar defeated the former member of the city council by a mere two points. Following his narrow defeat, Samuels asserted on Sunday that Omar is “beatable.”
“Ilhan hasn’t helped herself,” Samuels said. “She has made missteps, even after the last race. And so some folks are coming [to support me] because of what I am, who I am, and what I will do, and some are coming because of what she does and will do.”
Furthermore, he made it clear that he is entering the race earlier than before, which will allow him more time to cultivate connections with supporters and voters. Samuels further attacked Omar for being a polarizing figure, citing her attack on Obama for calling police budget cuts a “snappy slogan.”
“My opponent has a reputation for causing division and animosity on a personal, local, national, and worldwide level,” he declared.
Furthermore, a longstanding broadcast journalist in Minnesota who is pro-Israel and an immigrant from Iraq has declared she will challenge Omar in the upcoming election, calling her the most antisemitic member of Congress.
Omar and Dalia al-Aqidi, a Republican who fled the cruel rule of then-dictator Saddam Hussein in Iraq, have “staunchly opposing viewpoints on the Israel-Hamas conflict,” according to the study.
The Republican challenger began her campaign approximately a month ago because she is adamant that Omar should not represent the people in her Minneapolis district. She has accused Omar of being the biggest anti-Semite in Congress for voting against a resolution endorsing Israel following an attack on the country by Hamas, which is backed by the Palestinians.
While Omar “mourns the lives taken by Hamas,” she declined to endorse the resolution because it did not “acknowledge and mourn the lives of Palestinians taken by the Israeli military,” according to a statement released by her office last week.
Ilhan Omar voted against the US House resolution denouncing Hamas when I was present. And that reveals a great deal about Ilhan Omar’s character,” Al-Aqidi said to Politico while she was touring Israel late last month. “I come here as a Muslim, as someone who understands what it means to be a radical Muslim. Unfortunately, the majority of people in the United States cannot comprehend the difference between being a Muslim or being an extremist.”