On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Ilhanomar narrowly defeated a Democratic primary challenger whose candidacy was bankrolled In part, a GOP operative, corporate lobbyists and prominent Minnesota businessmen.
Omar, a stalwart progressive Who has been the target of racist right-wing attacks on a number of occasions death threats, won by less than 3000 votes, a much closer race than her 2020 primary. Don Samuels (ex-Minneapolis City Council Member) was her opponent. conceded The race.
“Tonight’s victory is a testament to how much our district believes in the collective values we are fighting for and how much they’re willing to do to help us overcome defeat,” Omar, the whip for the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said Tuesday night, shortly after the race was called in her favour. “This win is for them and everyone who still believes that regression will not be the legacy of the Fifth.”
Omar, who also repeatedly been thrown under the bus By the Democratic establishment, overcame an avalanche of outside opposition expenditure, including from a newly formed super PAC financed with donations from Kelly Doran — a Minnesota businessman and commercial real estate developer with a history of donating to Republicans — and Vance Opperman, the head of a private investment firm.
The Drain the DC Swamp PAC, a far-right outfit aligned also with former President Donald Trump as well as GOP election-deniers. spent against Omar in the primary for Minnesota’s solidly blue Fifth Congressional District.
Tonight’s victory is a testament to how much our district believes in the collective values we are fighting for and how much they’re willing to do to help us overcome defeat. This victory is for them and all those who believe that the Fifth will not be regressive. pic.twitter.com/z7u0iVI5PU
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) August 10, 2022
The Intercept reported Samuels, who was previously elected to Minneapolis’ school board with the support of right-wing privatization advocates, attended an April fundraiser “headlined by developers, lobbyists, and business leaders, including at least one Republican operative and donor, Andy Brehm; Jonathan Weinhagen, the president and CEO of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce; Steve Cramer, the president and CEO of the MPLS Downtown Council, an organization of more than 450 Minneapolis businesses; a former U.S. ambassador to Morocco; and a former City Council president.”
Jeremy Slevin, Omar’s senior communications director, noted on Twitter earlier this month that “close to 40%” of Samuel’s campaign donations “were more than $200 in the first quarter of 2022 (notably they did not disclose the percentage in the second quarter).”
“This is extraordinarily high,” Slevin wrote. “By comparison, 99% of Ilhan Omar’s donors were less than $200 in the same time period.”
In a statement late Tuesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said that “llhan Omar has faced some of the ugliest attacks of any elected official and had hundreds of thousands of dollars spent against her.”
“Despite this, she won her primary once again,” said Sanders. “Like Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush, these progressive champions have shown that they persevere and deliver for their constituents despite the well-funded, nasty attacks upon them.”
