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MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota Rep Ilhan Omar survived a Democratic challenge in the primary tuesday from a well-funded opponent who tried to make her national fame.
Omar, his term of time in November, defeated Antone Melton-Meaux, a lawyer and mediator who raised millions of dollars in anti-Omar money.
Melton-Meaux used the to wallpaper the district and flood the airwaves with his “Focused on the Fifth” message showing Omar, a member of “The Squad” of 4 progressive members of Congress, disconnected from Minneapolis’ 5th arrondissement.
Omar in 2018 became one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, building a national profile that began when the former Somali refugee elected the Minnesota Legislature two years earlier. Her competitive defense of liberal problems and her enthusiasm for confronting Donald Trump have made her even more prominent.
Omar rejected the Melton-Meaux attacks, saying they were funded by interests that sought to get her out of Congress because it was effective. He also downplayed Melton-Meaux’s prodigious fundraising before the vote, saying, “Other organized people will earn arranged money.”
U.S. Democratic Sen. Tina Smith and Republican challenger Jason Lewis seamlessly won their primaries in the state’s only contests on the ballot. Elsewhere, in western Minnesota’s 7th conservative district, former Senator Michelle Fischbach approved in a three-way run for the right to challenge Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson. Peterson, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, is one of the GOP’s main goals for returning to a seat in the House in November.
After entering Congress with a wonderful fanfare, Omar was at first hurt by comments about Israel and the cash that even some fellow Democrats called anti-Semites, and was found to apologize. She was also under scrutiny when her marriage collapsed and she married her political representative months after denying she had an affair.
Republicans also raised questions about processing bills for her new husband’s business, experts have said they are not necessarily inappropriate.
After George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, police reform also emerged as a problem. Omar subsidized a boost through most of Minneapolis City Council to update the city’s police section with something new. Melton-Meaux did not do this, but modified some of the police investment towards more social service-oriented programs. The two approached the factor in a non-public way, and Omar said she was looking for her son to grow up safely. Melton-Meaux, who is also black, told a non-public story about his arrest at the University of Virginia as police were searching for an attack suspect who allegedly hit his building.
Progressive Democrats have gained confidence in Omar’s re-election after last week’s primary of fellow “Squad” member Rashida Tlaib in Michigan and Cori Bush, a Black Lives Matter activist, in a Congressional primary in the St. Louis area. Progressives also demanded momentum for renewed interest in racial and economic justice after Floyd’s death.
Catherine Thornton, 36, Mills researcher living in southwest Minneapolis, said Tuesday that she voted for Melton-Meaux.
“I have a lot of respect for Ms. Omar, but personally, I’m not just aligning myself with her on the progressive agenda. And I had the impression that Mr. Melton-Meaux would be more in our district and the wishes of other people in our district ».
Wendy Helgeson, 57, a consultant, supported Omar two years ago, even putting a grass sign in her backyard, and said she’s “terribly proud to be the first black Muslim woman we’ve ever chosen.” But he expressed fear about Omar’s husband’s crusade bills before society, as well as his national presence, and discovered that it was easy to vote for Melton-Meaux, who said he had been his friend for 12 years.
“I appreciate it as a woman, ” said Omar’s Helgeson. “As a candidate, ehhh … I have some reservations.”
John Hildebrand, a 47-year-old instructor in Minneapolis who voted for Omar, said his national profile was an advantage.
“I think his presence encourages other Muslims and Somalis to run for the workplace and seek representation,” he said. “I think it involves more and more people in the political system.
Blake Smith, 23, a park that is black and describes himself as a leftist, also supported Omar. He is involved in climate change, Medicare for all and taking cash out of politics, and sees it as an ally.
“It is more time for radical substitution than for a small one; I don’t think we have more time for a slow replacement,” Smith said.
Doug Glass contributed. Ibrahim is a member of the Associated Press/ Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a national nonprofit service program that puts journalists in local newsrooms to report on secret issues.