Ilhan Omar wins Democratic nomination, boosts US House liberals

By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Firebrand U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar clinched the Democratic Party nomination for a fourth term on Tuesday, in a victory for progressives after losses in party primaries by two fellow members of the group nicknamed “The Squad.”

Omar defeated former Minneapolis city council member Don Samuels in Minnesota’s 5th District Democratic primary.

With 216 of 217 precincts reporting results, Omar was leading Samuels 56.2%-42.9%, according to Minnesota Secretary of State tallies.

At the end of a spirited campaign, Samuels acknowledged Omar’s victory in a telephone interview, but said the results showed “there are still people who are feeling left out of the congresswoman’s leadership.”

Omar’s robust campaign fundraising likely played a significant role in her victory.

She collected $6.8 million since the 2022 election, more than double the typical House member’s reelection campaign and well over Samuels’ $1.4 million, according to federal campaign disclosures.

“Because Omar had a tough primary last cycle (the 2022 election), she was prepared this time around with a strong ground game and excellent fundraising numbers that far outpaced Samuels,” said Ryan Dawkins, a political science professor at Minnesota’s Carleton College.

The Minnesota lawmaker, one of four progressive women whose 2018 election created The Squad, is expected to easily win the Nov. 5 election. Control of Congress will be up for grabs as Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump seek the presidency.

Fellow Squad members Representatives Jamaal Bowman of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri lost their party primaries over the past few months, facing opponents who had won substantial support from the pro-Israel fundraising group AIPAC.

Bowman, Bush and Omar had all expressed opposition to President Joe Biden’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas militants in Gaza, but AIPAC as of mid-July had given just $25 to Samuels’ campaign, according to data collected by Open Secrets. Bowman and Bush’s losses will whittle away The Squad’s ranks from its peak of nine members.

They also reflect a Democratic Party that has backed away from some of its furthest-left causes, like calls for providing government-backed healthcare for all Americans or talk of defunding police, which came to the fore during the 2020 Democratic presidential primary before Biden secured the nomination.

The absence of a significant 2024 Democratic primary before Biden ended his candidacy last month, passing the torch to Harris, meant that further-left candidates such as independent Senator Bernie Sanders did not drive the debate.

“I understood going into this election cycle that the progressive movement was going to be burdened because of the absence of somebody carrying the banner on the center stage of American politics,” said Alan Minsky, executive director of Progressive Democrats of America.

Nevertheless, he argued that progressive priorities, such as making prescription drugs and childcare more affordable still resonate with voters.

Omar and some fellow Squad members voted against some Biden priorities including the $1 trillion infrastructure bill signed into law in 2021. They mainly objected because it did not move in tandem with a bill to expand social programs, including childcare, as had been promised.

Unlike the hardline Republican House Freedom Caucus, whose roughly three dozen members have repeatedly blocked their own party’s priorities, members of The Squad have generally voted in step with fellow Democrats on legislation.

Omar, who arrived in the United States as a refugee from Somalia, describes her politics as “visionary, bold and loud” and says she has delivered millions of dollars in federal funds for community development in her district.

She argued she has paid close attention to her district’s large immigrant population – including Somalis – in part by probing whether large banks discriminate against Muslim Americans.

She has faced criticism for antisemitic remarks, with House Republicans in 2023 voting to remove her from the Foreign Affairs Committee over a 2019 social media post suggesting that Israel’s supporters were motivated by money rather than principle. Omar has apologized for that post.

Jamaica-born Samuels, a former toy developer and leader of a non-profit organization, had positioned himself as a pragmatic alternative, saying he agreed with many of Omar’s policy stances, but not what he called her divisive governing style.