US Rep. Ilhan Omar Cruises to Victory in Primary Race, Ending Anti-Israel ‘Squad’ Losing Streak

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), one of the most strident anti-Israel lawmakers in the US Congress, defeated Don Samuels on Tuesday night in the Democratic primary for Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District.

Omar notched a decisive victory over Samuels, winning the race by roughly 13 percentage points. She received 56.2 percent of the vote compared to Samuels’ 42.9 percent.

“I am incredibly honored by this victory tonight,” Omar said to her supporters at a Minneapolis restaurant on Tuesday night. “I am honored to represent the people who welcomed me and my family as refugees to this incredible state.”

The congresswoman expanded on the margins of her 2022 reelection bid, in which she defeated Samuels by a narrow 2.1 percentage points.

Omar will represent the Democratic Party in the general election, where she will face off against Republican nominee Dalia Al-Aqidi — a pro-Israel, Iraq-born journalist, in November. Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, which comprises Minneapolis and local suburbs, has consistently supported Democrats in the past, and Omar is expected to easily defeat her opponent.

Omar’s victory breaks a losing streak this election cycle for members of the so-called “Squad” — a cohort of progressive, anti-Israel members of the US House of Representatives. Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) both lost their Democratic primary races to pro-Israel opponents in June and July, respectively.

Notably, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) did not heavily invest financial resources in Tuesday’s election. AIPAC, a major pro-Israel lobbying group, helped oust both Bowman and Bush by financially supporting their opponents. The group spent a staggering $14.5 million and $9 million to defeat Bowman and Bush, respectively.

In the months following Hamas’ slaughter of roughly 1,200 people throughout southern Israel on Oct. 7, the left-wing lawmakers have adopted a more adversarial posture toward the Jewish state. The Democratic electorate has simultaneously grown increasingly less supportive of Israel, according to recent polling.

Both advocates and critics of the Jewish state watched Omar’s race closely, considering it a potential indicator of whether anti-Israel views are still an electoral liability within the Democratic Party.

Since being elected to Congress in 2018, Omar has emerged as a harsh critic of Israel. She has accused the Jewish state of committing “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza and erecting an “apartheid” government in the West Bank. The lawmaker has also publicly declared support for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement (BDS), an initiative which seeks to turn the Jewish state into an international pariah as a first step to its eventual destruction.

Omar was among the first members of Congress to call for a ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza, arguing that the Jewish state’s military operations “indiscriminately” killed Palestinian civilians.