Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, A Member Of The Progressive ‘Squad,’ Wins Democratic Primary

Omar avoided the fate of two fellow Squad members, Reps. Cori Bush (Mo.) and Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.) who lost their reelection bids this summer.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, one of the progressive House members known as the “Squad” and a sharp critic of how Israel has conducted the war in Gaza, has won her primary race in Minnesota.

Omar successfully defended her Minneapolis-area 5th District seat against a repeat challenge from former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels, a more centrist liberal whom she only narrowly defeated in the 2022 primary.

Speaking to supporters in Minneapolis, Omar echoed some of the themes of the Harris-Walz presidential campaign.

“We run the politics of joy,” she said. “Because we know it is joyful to fight for your neighbors. ... We know it is joyful to make sure housing is a human right. We know it is joyful to fight for health care to be a human right. We know it is joyful to want to live in a peaceful and equitable world.”

Omar avoided the fate of two fellow Squad members. Rep. Cori Bush lost the Democratic nomination in her Missouri district last week, and Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York lost his primary in June. Both 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 appeared to sit out the Minnesota race.