U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar defeats Don Samuels by wide margin in DFL primary election rematch

U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar won a closely watched DFL primary election rematch against former Minneapolis City Council Member Don Samuels on Tuesday, defeating him by a more resounding margin than she did two years ago.

The Minneapolis congresswoman will almost certainly be re-elected this November to serve a fourth term in the U.S. House. Minnesota’s Fifth District, which includes Minneapolis and nearby suburbs, is reliably blue. Omar will face Republican Dalia Al-Aqidi, who won her uncontested GOP primary election, in November.

Omar, the first Somali American elected to Congress, had the Minnesota DFL’s endorsement. She also outraised and outspent Samuels and vowed that “we’re not leaving a single door un-knocked,” acknowledging that she didn’t take Samuels seriously enough in their first race.

“I’m just so grateful to our volunteers, our incredible campaign staff, and definitely to our voters who went out on a beautiful August day, where it was easy to forget to go vote,” Omar, 41, told the Star Tribune at her election night party in Minneapolis. “It’s always been the politics of joy since we ran in 2016. We believe in uplifting people and fighting for things that make their lives better.”

Samuels, 75, is a Jamaican immigrant who’s advocated against gun violence ever since a bullet pierced his north Minneapolis home more than two decades ago. He found success against Omar in 2022, coming within a couple of percentage points of defeating her, by criticizing her support for a failed ballot measure to replace the Minneapolis Police Department.

That issue was less relevant this year, so Samuels instead sought to cast Omar as a divisive figure in the district. He accused her of making one-sided statements about the war in Gaza and minimizing Hamas’ attack on Israel in October. And he said he could better bridge the partisan divide.

Samuels told his supporters Tuesday night that even though he came up short, “we believe the results show the people are hungry for a different approach to leadership, one that is focused on the Fifth Congressional District and the challenges they face.”

“I will not give up on my people. I will continue to serve. I humbly accept the decision of the people of the Fifth District to my disadvantage,” Samuels said.

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. Samuels saw a last-minute surge of enthusiasm after Bush lost last week, with more than $150,000 in donations pouring in.

But the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and other pro-Israel groups, which spent millions trying to unseat Bowman and Bush, didn’t spend any money on Omar’s race, even though the Minneapolis congresswoman has been an outspoken critic of Israel and advocate for a cease-fire in Gaza.

Most voters who spoke to the Star Tribune on Tuesday at polling places in Minneapolis and St. Louis Park said they were backing Omar.

“I like that she’s fighting for women’s rights, the right to choose,” said Cindy Lindsley, who voted for Omar in St. Louis Park. Lindsley said abortion access is a very important issue for her granddaughter, so she votes to support her.

At the Sabathani Community Center in south Minneapolis, 48-year-old Matt DePratter said he supported Omar because “her progressive vote is just something that’s truly needed in our society right now.” DePratter said Samuels is just “a little too middle-of-the-road for me.”

“We tried to be moderates for decades, and we just kind of seem to be mired with no change happening in any direction,” DePratter said.

Omar got a chillier reception at Beth El Synagogue in St. Louis Park.

“Ilhan Omar’s views are not views I share,” said Jeff Zacker, referring to the congresswoman’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war. He said he voted for Samuels.

Shiron Van Dyke also voted for Samuels at the synagogue. She said she doesn’t think Omar pays enough attention to her constituents, and she criticized past comments from the congresswoman that she felt were antisemitic. But Van Dyke said she was doubtful Samuels would beat Omar.

“The only way he wins is if every Don Samuels voter turns up,” she said.

In the closing days before the primary election, some prominent Republicans from Minnesota and the U.S. urged conservatives who live in the Fifth District to vote for Samuels.

“If you live in Minnesota and you’re a Republican, I’m calling on you to vote for Ilhan Omar’s DEMOCRAT opponent in the August 13th primary,” far-right activist and provocateur Laura Loomer posted on X to her 1.2 million followers. “You are allowed to do this in an Open primary … If 5,000 GOP voters cross over to vote against her on the 13th, we can remove her from office.”

Royce White, the Minnesota GOP-endorsed U.S. Senate candidate, chimed in: “I will gladly give up 5,000 votes in the CD5 primary to accomplish this goal.”

The GOP attempt to meddle in the DFL primary was a topic of conversation among some Fifth District voters on Tuesday.

Anne Ebbens, 77, cast her vote for Omar at the Linden Hills Recreation Center. She said Samuels didn’t make a compelling enough case for her to vote for him. And Ebbens said she became more suspicious of Samuels after Republicans called for conservatives to cross over and vote for him in the Democratic primary.

“Even though [Samuels] didn’t ask for that, the fact that they would do that makes me wonder why they would want him as opposed to her,” Ebbens said. “It just wasn’t right. It did not pass that smell test.”

Minutes later, 45-year-old Chris Voss walked in and voted for Samuels, whom he believes can deliver more resources to the Fifth District. Voss, who also voted in the Democratic primary for Samuels two years ago, said he thinks Omar is more focused on generating headlines than addressing district-level issues such as homelessness, crime and economic development.

“[Samuels has] done great work in the past with investment in north Minneapolis and in the community, and that’s what we need,” said Voss, who lives in Linden Hills. But he, too, said he didn’t think Samuels would win Tuesday night.