Rep. Ilhan Omar will run for re-election to House seat, closing the door on Senate bid

Rep. Ilhan Omar will run for re-election to her House seat next fall, closing the door on a possible run for retiring Sen. Tina Smith’s U.S. Senate seat.

“At a time when our rights are under attack, it is more important than ever to fight back against the chaos, corruption, and callousness of the Trump Administration,” Omar, a Democrat, said in a statement.

“I am excited to announce I am running for reelection for Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District to keep standing up for our rights in the face of authoritarianism.”

Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and former Senate Minority Leader Melisa López Franzen have already jumped into the Senate race on the DFL side.

Omar’s announcement makes her the second well-known Democrat to take her name out of the running for Smith’s seat. Attorney General Keith Ellison was also considering a bid but effectively closed the door on a run for Senate when he endorsed Flanagan.

DFL Rep. Angie Craig is also mulling a bid, and sources close to Secretary of State Steve Simon say he’s been encouraged to run for the Senate.

Omar was first elected to her seat in 2018 and is the first Somali American elected to Congress.

She’s handedly defeated Republicans in her Minneapolis anchored district, but she’s had some tough primary races over the years.

In 2022, she beat her Democratic primary opponent Don Samuels by just 2 points, but she was able to notch a double-digit win against him last year in a rematch.

Her latest victory came at a time when the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee helped oust other progressive members of the left flank “Squad,” of which Omar is a founding member.

In Congress, she’s the deputy chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus as well as the chair and co-founder of the U.S. Africa Policy Working Group.

To get a breakdown of Minnesota’s latest political stories in your inbox, sign up for the free Hot Dish newsletter.