Ilhan Omar Faces Primary Today: Will Another Member of the ‘Squad’ Go Down?

With Representatives Cori Bush (D -Mo.) and Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) already suffering primary losses this year, we know ‘The Squad’ is not invulnerable.

And today, Ilhan Omar –  arguably the most prolific ‘Squad’ member – faces her challenge in the Democratic primary for Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District.

Could Omar meet the same fate as her two former ‘Squad’ mates?

Well what makes her showdown particularly interesting is it’s a rematch with former Minneapolis CIty Council Member, Don Samuels, who in 2022 came within 2,500 votes of beating her:

I'm Don Samuels, the Democrat in a primary election rematch with Rep. Ilhan Omar after coming within 2.1% of beating her two years ago. TOMORROW, we can stand up against the division, rage, and self-serving politics that is tearing America apart and stalling progress. GO VOTE! pic.twitter.com/wBE7xBaIJU

— Don Samuels (@DonSamuelsMN) August 12, 2024

So for starters, what was the key differentiator between the two which allowed Samuels to almost pull the upset in 2022?

Most likely it was their contrasting view on policing in America.

Omar campaigned on cutting police budgets.

Samuels ran on putting more money toward police to combat rising crime.

USA TODAY reports:

First, let’s catch up on Omar and Samuels’ 2022 race. That year, the Democratic lawmaker defeated Samuels by just 2,466 votes. It was much closer than her 2020 reelection primary, which she handily won by a little more than 35,000.

While Omar and Samuels sparred on a wide range of issues, it was policing in America that took center stage in their last election. Omar had been one of the more outspoken lawmakers demanding police policy changes in the state where George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police in 2020. During that campaign, she didn’t waver from her support for cutting police budgets to fund anti-violence and social programs to lower crime.

Samuels ran heavily on putting more money toward police to combat rising crime. He focused on his role in defeating a Minneapolis ballot initiative that tried to replace the police department with a public safety agency.

Interestingly, the pro-Israel group, The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which played a significant role in helping knock out Representatives Bush and Bowman, mostly sat this one out.

The Washington Post Reports:

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) faces a rematch Tuesday against a primary opponent who almost defeated her two years ago but has not drawn the big-money backing that helped topple two other members of the liberal “Squad” this year.

In Minnesota’s 5th District, Omar has sought to avoid another close race while managingto evade serious opposition from pro-Israel groups — namely, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee — that spent millions to unseat Reps. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) and Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) inthe two most expensive House primaries this year. AIPAC’s super PAC arm, the United Democracy Project, has not explained its apparent absence from the primary, though Samuels has called it a missed opportunity for national organizations.

Samuels has pitched himself as a more moderate and unifying Democrat.

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Now, isn’t it odd AIPAC would be less supportive of Samuels than they were against Bush and Bowman? Particularly after he criticized Omar in 2023 for voting against a bill to confront Iran after Hamas’ attack on Israel:

Congress passed numerous bills to confront Iran this week after its unprecedented attack on Israel. This legislation was bipartisan and received near-unanimous support from Democrats. My opponent, Rep. Ilhan Omar, was one of only three Democrats to vote against every bill. pic.twitter.com/8moBlzpTHB

— Don Samuels (@DonSamuelsMN) April 19, 2024

So what gives?

Why wasn’t AIPAC as interested in taking down Omar as they were Bush and Bowman?

Could it be that Samuels positions himself as a more moderate and unifying Democrat?

While AIPAC hasn’t given an answer to why they didn’t put significant effort to helping Samuels, here are some tweets which give a clearer idea of who is, in fact, supporting the former Minneapolis Councilman:

🚨🚨🚨To all Republicans in Minnesota, you can vote in the open primary to dismantle the cancer Ilhan Omar within the United States Congress in 2 days, Tuesday August 13th. pic.twitter.com/63W1WPSFjH

— 🇺🇸RealRobert🇺🇸 (@Real_RobN) August 11, 2024

Minnesota Republicans!! You can help vote out Ilhan Omar in your open primary state next Tuesday! Her primaries are always close!

Illhan Omar WOULD HATE if you shared this and she ended up getting knocked out because of it. pic.twitter.com/L29I1N6466

— aka (@akafacehots) August 7, 2024

And “I Meme Therefore I Am” urges supporters of both parties to vote against Omar today.

He also expresses his thoughts on which country Omar’s true allegiance is to by quoting former Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire’s remark to community leaders, “It is very important that Ilhan Omar is a Somalian and that she is in the government for us.”:

🚨⚠️ATTENTION: If you’re a Republican or Democrat in Minnesota, SHOW UP to VOTE in the open primary to DEFEAT Ilhan Omar TOMORROW, on Tuesday August 13th.

Omar is running against Don Samuels for the Fifth Congressional District.

Minnesota, you deserve a representative who… pic.twitter.com/yitCH7WXgx

— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) August 12, 2024