Sen. Bernie Sanders energizes voters at Minneapolis rally for Rep. Ilhan Omar

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders stopped in northeast Minneapolis on Saturday to lead hundreds in a get-out-the-vote rally for U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar as she seeks a fourth term in Congress.

Sanders, the Vermont independent who has twice sought the Democratic presidential nomination, told the crowd at Thomas Edison High School that Omar, a Democrat, “is one of the outstanding members of the United States Congress” and that he was proud to work with her.

“She knows that her job is not to represent big money interests, but to represent working people” as well as children, senior citizens, and “vulnerable people in our society,” said Sanders, who spoke Friday night at Minnesota State University Mankato.

The Omar campaign said at least 700 people attended the rally at Edison High, where Omar graduated in 2001. Supporters lined up along the walls of the packed auditorium, shouting Sanders’ and Omar’s names while waving “Ilhan for Congress” signs.

U.S. Sen. Tina Smith also addressed the rally, voicing her support for Omar. The Minnesota Democrat said the campaign’s momentum has surged in recent weeks since President Joe Biden decided not to seek re-election and opened the door to the presumptive nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris.

“The energy, the grassroots enthusiasm, that is real,” Smith said. “That is organic, because people can see that there should be hope and joy in politics. There is joy in fighting for what we believe in.”

Supporters greeted Omar with a standing ovation and cheers. She told them that Edison High and Minnesota had made her feel welcome after her family, Somali immigrants, arrived here in the 1990s.

“I am also a proud mom of three Minneapolis public school students and will always fight hard to ensure our educators have the resources that they need,” Omar said.

She alleged that her opponent in the Aug. 13 primary, former Minneapolis City Council Member Don Samuels, accepted $200,000 from “right-wing billionaires who want to dismantle public schools.”

“That is not Minnesota values. That is not the values of our neighbors and that’s not the values that I carry,” Omar said.

In a statement, Samuels said Omar had sought support from the likes of Sanders because their race is expected to be tight. In the 2022 primary for the Fifth Congressional District seat, Samuels lost to Omar by 2 percentage points, coming closer to unseating her than previous candidates. It’s déjà vu all over again, Samuels said in the statement.

“Like in 2022, Rep. Ilhan Omar is calling in national support because she knows this race is close and that our grassroots campaign is growing every day,” he said. “We believe voters realize that August 13th is their opportunity to choose leadership focused on the people, not their own agenda.”

Much of Saturday’s rally focused on the presidential race as Omar urged the crowd to support Harris. Sanders did the same, telling the Star Tribune that the vice president could win what’s expected to be a tough contest in November.

He also said Gov. Tim Walz, who is thought to be on Harris’ short list of possible running mates, could be an ideal choice because of his support for working class families.

Walz, Sanders said, “understands that we live in a society of massive income and wealth inequality, and the time is long overdue for government to pay attention to working families and not just wealthy campaign loans.”