Minnesota’s Ilhan Omar easily wins against well-funded challenger

Somali-American legislator expected to return to Congress in November representing a heavily Democratic district. Ilhan Omar, the first Somali-American member of the US Congress, survived a stiff Democratic primary challenge from a well-funded opponent, who tried to make an issue of her national celebrity, the latest in a string of victories by a new generation of progressive legislators.

Omar, seeking her second term in November, easily defeated Antone Melton-Meaux, a lawyer and mediator who raised millions in anti-Omar money, and a third candidate. She expanded her base by winning 57 percent of the vote against her two challengers during the election cycle, compared with her 48 percent victory in the 2018 primary. “In Minnesota, we know that organised people will always beat organised money,” she wrote on social media following her win. “Despite the attacks, our support has only grown.”Omar’s district is predominantly Democratic, and she is expected to win in November.

One of the first two Muslim women to be elected to Congress in 2018, Omar, 37, is well-known as a member of the “Squad” of four freshman liberal congresswomen.

Omar built on a national profile that started when the onetime refugee from Somalia was elected to the Minnesota Legislature in 2016. Her aggressive advocacy on liberal issues, and her eagerness to take on US President Donald Trump, made her even more prominent. Omar and her allies gained confidence in her re-election chances after primary victories last week by fellow progressive members of Congress Rashida Tlaib in Michigan and by Cori Bush, a Black Lives Matter activist who removed a longtime St Louis-area congressman.

They also claimed momentum from the renewed focus on racial and economic justice after George Floyd’s death in the city of Minneapolis.