Ilhan Omar defeats primary challenger by less than 2,500 votes


Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is on track to win a third term representing Minnesota's deep-blue 5th Congressional District after narrowly fending off a primary challenge on Tuesday.
Omar won 57,683 votes — 50.3 percent of the total — while former Minneapolis City Councilman Don Samuels came up short with 55,217 votes, or 48.2 percent.
According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Samuels said his campaign had "the right read on the voters" but wasn't able to "pull it off in the length of time we had." Samuels, a 73-year-old Jamaican immigrant, attempted "to portray himself as less politically volatile" than his opponent, focusing on Omar's support for a 2021 Minneapolis ballot measure to disband the city's police department and her feud with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Omar's margin of victory over Samuels was by far the slimmest of her career. In 2018, Omar became the first Somali American elected to Congress, receiving a plurality of 48.2 percent in the district's open primary and beating out the second-place finisher by nearly 18 points. The "Squad" member won a second term in 2020 after winning that year's primary by a similar margin.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
Marisa Silver’s 6 favorite books that capture a lifetime
Feature The author recommends works by John Williams, Ian McEwan, and more
-
Book reviews: ‘We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution’ and ‘Will There Ever Be Another You’
Feature The many attempts to amend the U.S. Constitution and Patricia Lockwood’s struggle with long Covid
-
Philadelphia’s Calder Gardens
Feature A permanent new museum
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to Chicago
Speed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies