Don Samuels and Rep. Ilhan Omar. Photos courtesy of the Don Samuels campaign and the U.S. House of Representatives
June 21, 2024 Story by: Editor
Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, a Democratic stronghold, sees U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar once again in a tight primary battle within her party.
Early voting begins one week from Friday for Minnesota’s August primary, where Omar faces former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels for the second time. Samuels nearly defeated Omar in the 2022 primary with a surge of funding amounting to about $1.4 million.
This year, Omar is focusing on her district record, highlighting the federal funds she has secured for local projects and hosting regular town halls. She is also utilizing her $2.2 million campaign fund, significantly outspending Samuels.
Omar’s campaign has already launched TV ads, including a biographical spot urging voters to “vote on or before August 13th.”
Recently, a group of abortion rights supporters gathered at The Coven, a co-working space in Minneapolis, to commemorate the two-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the federal right to an abortion. Omar, joined by lawmakers and the CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States, quoted President Biden’s State of the Union address: “President Biden said, ‘If you, the American people, send me a Congress that supports the right to choose, I promise you, I will restore Roe versus Wade as the law of the land again,’” Omar stated.
Omar stressed the importance of campaign funds being used in more critical races across the country: “If people really do care about protecting our democracy, if they really care about advancing abortion rights, if they really care about all of the things that we could be accomplishing with the majority, they should think about what it means for us to continuously have to spend millions of dollars in a primary here in the fifth,” she said.
Samuels views his near-victory in 2022 as indicative of a desire for change. “A statement of coming that close, in defiance of many people’s expectations, said that people still wanted change,” Samuels told MPR News. “If we had another week or two, we might have achieved that. So that’s why I’m running again.”
Republican Dalia Al-Aqidi is unopposed for her party’s nomination and will face the DFL primary winner in November. Omar secured her last term with 74% of the vote, marking her third overwhelming general election victory.
In the 2022 primary, Omar was often in the national spotlight for her Congressional comments but was less visible in her district. This time, her campaign is more active locally, emphasizing federal grants she has secured for district communities.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who endorsed Samuels two years ago, has a long-time political adviser managing Samuels’ campaign. Frey and Omar have had a contentious relationship, but Frey refrained from commenting on the race in April. “I’m a defender of Minneapolis,” Frey told MPR News. “Different elected officials have different perspectives … regardless of different perspectives you’ve got to work with each other.”
While Omar focuses on local issues, Samuels criticizes her stance on the Gaza conflict, attempting to portray her as a divisive figure. During a May event for the DFL endorsement, both candidates were asked about their positions on the Israel War on Gaza. Samuels described the issue as “fraught and very complex” and called for a peaceful two-state solution. Omar opposed U.S. tax dollars funding bombs used by Israel in Gaza, resulting in civilian casualties, stating, “You cannot allow for the death of one people to be acceptable while you condemn the death of others.”
Omar won the DFL endorsement in the first round of balloting, unlocking local party funding for her campaign against Samuels. She also has the support of Attorney General Keith Ellison, her predecessor.
Samuels recently announced endorsements from The United Steelworkers and the International Union of Operating Engineers. He has also questioned the business dealings of Omar’s political consultant husband, which Omar’s campaign dismisses as “desperate” and “politically motivated.”
Samuels aims to present himself as a unifying leader. “We understood all along that the inner workings of the party were out of step with the average voter,” he said. “So we are taking our case to the average voter on August 13.”
With less than two months to distinguish himself, Samuels faces the challenge of overcoming one of Congress’s most prominent figures. If Omar prevails against Samuels again in August, she will likely secure a fourth term. Source: MPR News
