Rep. Ilhan Omar’s vulnerability will be tested in Tuesday rematch against bitter rival Don Samuels

For someone who nearly lost her congressional seat two years ago, Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar doesn’t seem worried about her Tuesday primary election.

Two of Omar’s fellow progressive “Squad” members in the U.S. House, Missouri Rep. Cori Bush and New York Rep. Jamaal Bowman, recently lost their Democratic primary elections to challengers. But Omar, who’s seeking a fourth term, doesn’t think she’ll suffer the same fate in her rematch against former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels.

In fact, Omar said she’ll beat Samuels by a larger margin than two years ago, when she won by just 2,466 votes. She’s outraised and outspent Samuels, and her campaign has deployed organizers throughout the reliably blue Fifth District, which includes Minneapolis and nearby suburbs. “We’re not leaving a single door un-knocked,” said Omar, who admits she didn’t focus enough on Samuels the first time.

Samuels has campaigned against Omar for close to a year, about twice as long as the length of his last run. He said his campaign has signed up 1,200 volunteers compared to about 100 in 2022. And Samuels has seen a last-minute surge of enthusiasm since Omar’s fellow Squad member Bush lost her primary election Tuesday, with more than $150,000 in donations pouring in.

“This is a classic David and Goliath race, right?” said Joe Radinovich, Samuels’ campaign manager. “But David won. Goliath might have had everything going for him, but one well-placed shot is what it takes.”

The issues have shifted since their first race, when Samuels found success hammering Omar for supporting a failed ballot measure to replace the Minneapolis Police Department. Omar said many of her constituents are now concerned about the war in Gaza, and she’s been one of the most outspoken Israel critics and cease-fire advocates.

“I’ve always been driven by humanity, by my lived experience as someone who survived war and has experienced injustice,” said Omar, who came to the U.S. as a refugee. “So I’ve always felt the urgency and the need to speak up.”

Samuels has focused this year on what he sees as Omar’s divisiveness, saying their primary election will be a referendum on her leadership. He criticized Omar for taking a “celebrity approach,” saying she relies on out-of-state money and politicians to boost her profile instead of constituent service. Omar is a liability for Democrats, Samuels said, noting Republicans such as former President Donald Trump frequently use her as a political foil.

“It’s not for no reason that [Trump] does that,” Samuels said. “To have your representative being held up as a symbol of extremes rather than a symbol of effective service speaks for itself.”

Omar has questioned Samuels’ political convictions, criticizing him for receiving campaign donations from Republicans such as billionaire Harlan Crow in the past. She’s accused Samuels of adopting her positions on many issues, saying he goes “where the wind blows.”

During a campaign rally for Omar earlier this month, Democratic U.S. Sen. Tina Smith praised Omar as someone who has “changed the debate in this country” through her early advocacy for issues such as student debt relief. Some of the causes Omar championed, including Palestinian rights, have since become mainstream Democratic Party priorities.

“She is moving us forward. She calls us to be better and do better in ways that are changing the way that our country works,” Smith said.

But Omar has continued to make some missteps. U.S. House Republicans threatened to censure Omar earlier this year for suggesting some Jewish students at Columbia University were “pro-genocide.”

“Can you imagine if someone had said anything close to that about any other minority group?” said Tamar Fenton, a Jewish resident of St. Louis Park who is supporting Samuels. “It just would never be said … If any of this targeting of any other minority group had happened on campuses, it would have been swiftly dealt with.”

Fenton said she was among a group of women who met with Omar several years ago to discuss statements they felt were anti-Semitic. Omar listened and thanked them for their feedback, Fenton said, but then went on to make more statements they felt were insensitive to the Jewish community.

Samuels has had his own slip-ups. He called Omar a “pawn for Hamas” during an interview with WCCO, drawing condemnation from the congresswoman and other Democrats.

“To call a Muslim member of Congress a ‘pawn of Hamas’ is not just Islamophobic, it’s dangerous,” state Rep. Mohamud Noor and other legislators from the People of Color and Indigenous Caucus (POCI) wrote in a statement.

In an interview, Noor said Omar’s support for Palestinian rights is in line with her constituents. Noor pointed to the more than 18,000 residents of the Fifth District who voted “uncommitted” during Minnesota’s presidential primary election earlier this year. Many Democrats voted uncommitted in protest of President Joe Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza.

“I think that shows how she values their input and how she wants to make sure that she can share that,” said Noor, DFL-Minneapolis.

Omar said she’s urged Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to do what they can to help end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and she would continue to do so if she’s re-elected and Harris becomes president.

The congresswoman said she hopes Democrats will flip the House this November so she can return to the Foreign Affairs Committee, which Republicans removed her from.

“I have earned seniority throughout my three terms,” Omar said, adding voters should consider that when choosing between her and the 75-year-old Samuels.

“By the time he has similar seniority, he’ll be in his mid-eighties,” she said.

Samuels said his age shouldn’t be a factor. If voters want a representative who will bridge the partisan divide, Samuels said, they should choose him.

“I’m going to have coffee with each member of Congress, one a day, and start to build relationships across the aisle,” he said.

Samuels pitched himself as someone who could deliver more resources for the Fifth District. He said he would even be willing to work with Trump, if the Republican is elected, to do so, although he is fully supporting Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, whom he called a friend.

“The Fifth District will definitely benefit, and so will the state of Minnesota, from more collaborative productivity at the federal level,” he said.

Star Tribune staff writer Kyeland Jackson contributed to this story.