Up for reelection this year is controversial Democratic incumbent Ilhan Omar of Minnesota’s 5th congressional district; however, she will face three strong opponents in the primary, all of whom are running as progressives who can work with President Joe Biden. The most recent poll shows that Omar’s Democratic primary opponent is currently tied with the progressive squad member in a rematch race.
Former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels is running against Omar again in the August 13 primary, and it looks to be a close contest after Samuels lost by just 2.1 percent in the 2022 primary.
Simultaneously, Omar and other purported members of the “squad” are facing backlash for allegedly inciting voters to boycott Biden during the Democratic primary due to his backing of Israel during its fight with Hamas terrorists operating out of Gaza, a Palestinian area.
A Victoria Research survey, which was made public by Samuels’ campaign, indicated that 41% of 519 Democratic voters in Minnesota’s 5th congressional district supported Omar and Samuels.
The remaining 18% are either unsure as of yet or plan to support a candidate other than Omar or Samuels in the primary this summer.
The Samuels campaign, which positions itself as a progressive stand-in that can actually work with Democratic President Biden, released the polling data on Monday after collecting it from February 20–27.
“This poll confirms what we already know: Rep. Ilhan Omar is defeatable. In a statement regarding the outcomes, Samuels stated, “We speak with worn-out voters all over the district every day on the campaign trail, and we hear over and over again how sick and tired they are of the division and dysfunction that define Washington today.”
In the Fifth Congressional District and around the nation, Samuels continued, “sadly, many feel that the congresswoman is contributing to this dysfunction and are ready for new leadership focused on building common ground to deliver results for families and working people.”
According to Samuels’ campaign, Omar “encouraged an uncommitted vote in Minnesota’s presidential primary and did not even bother to vote” on Super Tuesday of last month.
In the 2022 Democratic House primary, Samuels lost to Omar by a mere 2,466 votes, or barely over 2 percent.
Omar is the first elected Somali-American woman to serve in Congress as well as the first woman to wear a hijab on the House floor. Along with Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), she is a part of the group of lawmakers dubbed progressives. These members were elected to Congress during the 2018 midterm elections.
Representatives Omar and Tlaib—a Palestinian-American—both pushed progressive voters in their states to vote in the Democratic presidential primary last month, encouraging them to cast “uncommitted” ballots.