Squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) will face former Minneapolis City Councilman Don Samuels in the 2024 Democratic primary to defend her House seat.
Samuels, who narrowly lost to Omar in the 2022 primary by about 2 percentage points, announced Sunday that she would once again try to unseat the powerful House progressive. “Ilhan is not helping himself,” Samuels said after officially announcing his own campaign on WCCO Newstalk 830 radio. “She made a mistake even after the last race. She has some people coming.” [to support me] Because it’s what I am, who I am, and what I’m going to do. And some are coming because of what she’s done and what she’s going to do. ”
Omar was re-elected twice despite using anti-Semitic tropes during her first term and making comments that suggested the loyalties of Jewish Americans were divided.
But Omar, a Somali-American Muslim, has come under new criticism for criticizing the Israeli government’s handling of the war against Hamas.
“We must remember that Israel is our ally,” Samuels said of the conflict at WCCO. “Hamas is actually a terrorist organization. But our greatest ally is justice and peace.”
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Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has faced criticism over her stance on Israel. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin, File)
“Our members tend to be divisive and divisive,” Samuels said of Omar in an interview with The Associated Press ahead of Sunday’s official announcement.
The Jamaican-born Samuels still maintain that their narrow loss in the 2022 primary showed that Omar could have won, and that Omar could have won had he fought later in the general election. In the general election, Omar won 74% of the vote against an unknown Republican. A deep blue area.
A big issue in 2022 was the future of the police force in Minneapolis, which descended into violent riots and protests after the death of George Floyd in police custody in 2020.
Omar was among the progressives who criticized former President Barack Obama’s movement to “defund the police” as nothing more than a “smart slogan.” “This is not a slogan, it’s a policy demand,” she, now known as X, tweeted.
Former City Councilman Don Samuels poses at his home in Minneapolis on Friday, November 10, 2023. Samuels ran against Representative Ilhan Omar in the 2022 Democratic primary, but lost by a narrow margin. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)
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In contrast, the centrist Samuels helped lead the opposition party that defeated a proposal for a 2021 municipal vote that grew out of the “defund” movement and replaced the police with a revamped public safety agency. Samuels believes safety will once again be a top priority.
“The long tail of George Floyd and COVID continues, storefronts and strip malls are empty because people don’t want to invest anymore. They don’t feel safe,” Samuels said. Told.
Don Samuels is challenging U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar in the 2024 Democratic primary in front of his home in Minneapolis on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)
Omar issued a written statement Sunday touting her efforts in Congress and in her district, including fighting climate change and codifying abortion rights. She also cited her role in ensuring affordable housing for Minnesota’s veterans and public safety efforts to provide mental health support and services to victims of gun violence. .
“Right-wing donors have targeted me since I first stepped foot in public life,” Omar said in a statement, adding that Samuels has been targeted by far-right donors and political action committees. He also criticized the fact that he had received a donation of 100,000 yen. “If we want to stop Donald Trump, we need record turnout, and we are confident in our ability to increase turnout, especially in a presidential election year.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
