Israel critic Ilhan Omar wins Minnesota Democratic primary

Washington (Quds News Network)- Democratic United States Representative Ilhan Omar, an outspoken critic of Israel’s genocide war in Gaza, has won her primary race in Minnesota.

Omar, one of the progressive House members known as the “Squad,” faced three challengers in the primary contest to determine the party’s nominee and will now continue on to the November election in the state’s solidly Democratic-leaning 5th District.

With 216 of 217 precincts reporting results, Omar had 56.2 percent, compared with 42.9 percent for former member of the Minneapolis City Council Don Samuels, according to Minnesota Secretary of State tallies.

The race had been closely watched after successful primary challengers took down two fellow members of the Squad over their stance on the Israeli war on Gaza and US military aid to Israel.

With nearly all ballots counted from the vote, Cori Bush of Missouri won 45.8 percent while her rival, St Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, won 51 percent.

Bell’s campaign received a big boost from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, whose super political action committee, United Democracy Project (UDP), spent $8.5 million to oust Bush over her criticism of Israel’s genocide war on Gaza.

In June, the Super PAC also spent $15m to defeat another progressive congressman, Jamaal Bowman of New York. Bowman lost to George Latimer, a pro-Israel centrist.

A statement from the UDP said the wins by Bell and Latimer, along with John McGuire’s defeat of U.S. Rep. Bob Good in a Republican primary in Virginia, “is further proof that being pro-Israel is good policy and good politics on both sides of the aisle. UDP will continue our efforts to support leaders working to strengthen the U.S.-Israel alliance while countering detractors in either political party.”

One of the biggest points of divergence is their stance on Israel.

The Intercept reported on Sunday that a last-minute effort by wealthy pro-Israel donors raised six-figure sums to help Samuels.

AIPAC, as of mid-July, had given just $25 to Samuels’s campaign, according to data collected by Open Secrets.

Omar faced false allegations for antisemitic remarks, with House Republicans in 2023 voting to remove her from the Foreign Affairs Committee over a 2019 social media post suggesting that Israel’s supporters were motivated by money rather than principle. Omar has apologised for that post.