Rep. Ilhan Omar wins Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District primary in the 2024 election against Don Samuels

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., fended off several primary challengers Tuesday, NBC News projects, a victory for progressives after two of her fellow members of the “squad” suffered defeats this summer. 

Omar defeated former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels, who lost to her by just 2 percentage points in the 2022 primary, and two other challengers in Minnesota’s 5th District. 

Reps. Jamaal Bowman, of New York, and Cori Bush, of Missouri — also members of the progressive “squad” of lawmakers of colors — lost primaries in recent weeks that centered on the Democratic Party’s split over the Israel-Hamas war. 

Unlike other progressives who have sharply criticized Israel, Omar did not face an onslaught of attack ads from outside groups. United Democracy Project, a super PAC tied to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel lobbying group, did not engage in Omar’s race after having spent millions to defeat Bush and Bowman. 

Omar did step up her campaign after she nearly lost to Samuels two years ago. As of July 24, her campaign had spent more than $6.1 million on the race, according to the latest campaign finance reports. At the same point in the 2022 primary, her campaign had spent just $71,000. Samuels’ campaign, meanwhile, spent $1.2 million on this year’s race. 

On the airwaves, Omar focused on positive messaging, highlighting President Joe Biden’s praise for her work in Congress, her support for abortion rights and her background. 

“Minnesota might be cold, but those who call this place home, you are warm and caring, hardworking, resilient and proud,” she said in one of her TV ads. “You welcomed me as a refugee. You taught me the power of organizing and democracy. You are who I fight for every day to deliver food security, affordable housing and health care.”

Samuels sought to paint Omar as out of touch with the district, alleging in one ad that she “has gone missing on the issues that matter most to us.” 

“Omar advocated abolishing the police with gun violence surging and voted against President Biden’s plan to rebuild roads and bridges and expand public transportation and EV charging networks,” the ad’s narrator said. “We deserve better.”

While Bush’s and Bowman’s opponents leveraged their votes against the bipartisan infrastructure package in their primaries, Samuels was not able to make that attack stick to Omar, overwhelmed by her financial advantage.  

The deep-blue 5th District, which includes Minneapolis, is expected to remain in Democratic hands in November. Biden won the district by 63 points in 2020, according to calculations from Daily Kos Elections.