{"id":2323557,"date":"2024-08-13T06:20:02","date_gmt":"2024-08-13T10:20:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ilhan-omar-primary-challenge-turns-ugly-as-squad-democrat-seeks-fourth-term-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-13T06:21:51","modified_gmt":"2024-08-13T10:21:51","slug":"ilhan-omar-primary-challenge-turns-ugly-as-squad-democrat-seeks-fourth-term-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ilhan-omar-primary-challenge-turns-ugly-as-squad-democrat-seeks-fourth-term-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Ilhan Omar primary challenge turns ugly as \u2018Squad\u2019 Democrat seeks fourth term &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Filhan-omar-primary-challenge-turns-ugly-as-squad-democrat-seeks-fourth-term-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2323557&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In the upcoming primary, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), a prominent member \u200cof the &#8220;Squad,&#8221; is facing a tough challenge from former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels. The race has\u2064 turned contentious,\u200b with Omar accusing Samuels of \u200dseeking support from Republican voters and\u2062 big-money groups \u2063to oust her from office. Samuels, who narrowly lost to Omar in 2022, has leveraged the geopolitical context following the Hamas attack on Israel, labeling Omar&#8217;s Pro-Palestinian stance as detrimental and accusing her of being aligned with Hamas.<\/p>\n<p>The race has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-senators-work-to-block-bidens-plans-literally\/\" title=\"GOP senators actively obstruct Biden&#039;s plans.\">drawn significant attention<\/a> and funding\u200c from pro-Israel groups, challenging Omar&#8217;s candidacy. In \u200cresponse, Omar has condemned Samuels for courting GOP backing while defending her own fundraising, which she claims is primarily from Democratic donors. Despite facing intense competition, Omar has received support from key left-wing figures like Sen. Bernie Sanders. The \u200bDemocratic primary\u200d winner will face GOP candidate Dalia al Aqidi, \u2063with the district heavily leaning\u2063 Democratic. However, an\u200d open \u2063primary could allow Republican votes to influence the outcome,\u200c potentially favoring Samuels.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Ilhan Omar primary challenge turns ugly as &lsquo;Squad&rsquo; Democrat seeks fourth term<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1727370\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Rep. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ilhan-omar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Ilhan Omar\">Ilhan Omar<\/a> (D-MN) is accusing her Democratic challenger of actively courting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republicans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Republican\">Republican<\/a> voters as well as big-money groups to boot her from office as the incumbent faces a high-profile primary Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>Omar, a prominent member of the &ldquo;Squad,&rdquo; is facing former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels, who she defeated by just 2 percentage points in 2022. The primary between the two has turned ugly, with both <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democrats\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Democrats\">Democrats<\/a> trading jabs about campaign donations, policy platforms, and most recently, calling into question where support for their campaigns is stemming.<\/p>\n<p>Samuels, who entered the primary after Hamas&rsquo;s Oct. 7 attack against Israel, has sought to make the House Democrat&rsquo;s Pro-Palestinian stance a liability for Omar, accusing her of being a &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/topic\/hamas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>pawn for Hamas<\/a>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Samuels&rsquo;s attacks against Omar come as two of her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-cancels-chicago-trip-to-focus-on-threatened-infrastructure-bill\/\" title=\"Biden Cancels Chicago Trip To Focus On Threatened Infrastructure Bill\">left-wing colleagues<\/a>, Reps. Cori Bush (D-MO) and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), have been ousted from their seats after pro-Israel groups spent millions of dollars against them.<\/p>\n<p>Those losses have also caused a surge in fundraising against Omar, particularly from pro-Israel groups and those who have proposed courting Republican voters to back Samuels, <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2024\/08\/11\/ilhan-omar-don-samuels-primary-super-pac-israel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"according to the Intercept\">according to the <em>Intercept<\/em><\/a><em>. <\/em><\/p>\n<p>Omar has denounced those efforts, calling it a &ldquo;shameful&rdquo; campaign tactic and accusing Samuels of actively seeking out GOP voters despite running as a Democrat.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;MN05 deserves someone who will champion their values, not seek support from vile MAGA Republicans like Laura Loomer and Royce White,&rdquo; Omar said in a post on X, referring to Loomer, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/twitter-suspends-conservative-provocateur-who-posted-cnn-expose\/\" title=\"Twitter Suspends Conservative Provocateur Who Posted CNN Expos\u00e9\">conservative political activist<\/a>, and White, a Republican Senate candidate.<\/p>\n<p>Samuels shot back, accusing Omar of also accepting donations from &ldquo;Republican and Trump megadonors&rdquo; and specifically pointing to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-to-lose-the-2024-election\/\" title=\"2024 Election: Tips for Losing\">campaign finance reports filed<\/a> with the Federal Election Commission that showed Farouk Shami, an ally of former President Donald Trump, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/receipts\/?data_type=processed&amp;committee_id=C00680934&amp;contributor_name=farouk+shami&amp;two_year_transaction_period=2024\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>donating $6,600 to Omar<\/a> in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Don, a lifelong, progressive, pragmatic Democrat, who has raised over 75% of his money from within the district, nearly all of it from Democratic donors. Rep. Ilhan Omar knows that a person&rsquo;s politics aren&rsquo;t always so clear-cut,&rdquo; Samuels said in a statement. &ldquo;Of course, the last thing Rep. Omar wants this race to be about is her record, so she&rsquo;s making this last desperate effort to talk about something else.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Omar has not dealt with such intense pro-Israel <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3116827\/ilhan-omar-primary-aipac-squad-democrats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"fundraising against her\">fundraising against her<\/a> as Bush and Bowman did, with groups such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and its political arm United Democracy only spending roughly $19,000 to boost her opponent. For comparison, AIPAC spent&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3113785\/cori-bush-tear-down-aipac-primary-loss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">almost $9 million<\/a>&nbsp;through its political arm&nbsp;to oust Bush and at least $14.5 million on ads attacking Bowman.<\/p>\n<p>The incumbent has also benefitted from support from top left-wing lawmakers such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who has campaigned alongside the incumbent in recent weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Whoever wins the primary Tuesday will go on to face Republican candidate Dalia al Aqidi, who is running unopposed on the GOP side. The race is expected to heavily favor the Democratic nominee, and the <em>Cook Political Report<\/em> has given the race a D+30 rating.<\/p>\n<p>As the election is expected to benefit the Democratic candidate, it&rsquo;s possible Republican voters may weigh in on the Democratic primary through the state&rsquo;s open primary process, which could result in Samuels clinching more votes from conservatives who wish to see Omar booted from office.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Both Omar and Samuels have attacked each other in an attempt to paint the other as ineffective and wrong for the district.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>While Samuels has acknowledged the two candidates have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/iowa-gov-kim-reynolds-to-endorse-ron-desantis-in-2024-presidential-race\/\" title=\"Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds backs Ron DeSantis for 2024 presidency.\">similar policy positions<\/a>, the Democratic challenger has accused Omar of being too divisive in ways that &ldquo;alienates half of her district.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Omar has pushed back on those arguments, accusing Samuels of adopting many of her policy positions &ldquo;because he knows those are winning policies,&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox9.com\/news\/ilhan-omar-don-samuels-campaign-ahead-primary-rematch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>according to Fox 9<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I hope we actually hear what he might want to do instead of just taking my full platform and running with it,&rdquo; Omar told the outlet.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Still, Samuels faces an uphill battle as Omar remains popular in her district. The most recent polling from Lake Research Partners shows Omar 27 points ahead. Omar&rsquo;s campaign has also vastly outspent Samuels, allocating about $2.6 million on advertising compared to his $32,000.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>contacted Omar&rsquo;s campaign for comment. <\/p>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1727370\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1727370\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ilhan Omar&#8217;s primary challenge has taken a contentious turn as she accuses her Democratic opponent of seeking support from Republican voters and wealthy interest groups to unseat her. The incumbent, who is a well-known member of the &#8220;Squad,&#8221; is up against former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels, whom she narrowly defeated by 2 percentage points in 2022. The rivalry has escalated, with both candidates exchanging criticisms regarding campaign financing, policy positions, and the sources of their support.<\/p>\n<p>Samuels entered the race following Hamas&#8217;s attack on Israel on October 7 and has attempted to leverage Omar&#8217;s Pro-Palestinian views against her, labeling her a &#8220;pawn for Hamas.&#8221; His attacks come in light of recent defeats faced by other progressive Democrats like Reps. Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman after significant funding from pro-Israel organizations targeted them. This situation has led to increased fundraising efforts against Omar from pro-Israel groups and those encouraging Republican voter support for Samuels.<\/p>\n<p>Omar condemned these tactics as &#8220;shameful&#8221; and accused Samuels of trying to attract GOP voters while running as a Democrat. She emphasized that Minnesota\u2019s 5th district deserves representation that aligns with their values rather than seeking backing from extreme right-wing figures like Laura Loomer and Royce White.<\/p>\n<p>In response, Samuels pointed out that Omar also received donations from Republican donors, citing contributions made by Farouk Shami\u2014a supporter of former President Trump\u2014amounting to $6,600 in 2023. He defended his own fundraising efforts as being primarily sourced within the district from Democratic supporters.<\/p>\n<p>While Omar hasn&#8217;t faced the same level of aggressive pro-Israel fundraising aimed at her compared to Bush or Bowman\u2014who were targeted with millions\u2014she still enjoys backing from influential leftist figures such as Senator Bernie Sanders. The winner of this primary will face Republican candidate Dalia al Aqidi in an election expected to favor the Democratic nominee significantly; however, there are concerns that some Republicans might influence the Democratic primary due to Minnesota\u2019s open primary system.<\/p>\n<p>Both candidates have criticized each other\u2019s effectiveness for representing their district; while they share similar policy views according to Samuels, he argues that Omar&#8217;s divisive approach alienates constituents. Conversely, Omar contends that Samuels is merely adopting her successful policies without offering any original ideas.<\/p>\n<p>Despite facing challenges from his opponent&#8217;s popularity\u2014recent polls show Omar leading by 27 points\u2014and significant disparities in campaign spending ($2.6 million for Omar versus $32,000 for Samuels), he continues his campaign effort ahead of Tuesday\u2019s high-stakes primary election<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2640,"featured_media":2323558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP23293770834413-1.jpg.optimal.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[9305,34264,37676],"class_list":["post-2323557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-squad","tag-ilhan-omar","tag-primary-challenge"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP23293770834413-1.jpg.optimal.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2323557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2640"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2323557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2323557\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2323558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2323557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2323557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2323557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}