Tipsheet

With 2 Down, Is Ilhan Omar the Next Squad Member to Lose Her Primary?

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  August 11, 2024 9:00 AM

Less than a week ago, Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) became the second Squad member to lose her primary. She was beaten out by DA Wesley Bell, who will almost certainly represent the state's 1st Congressional District after the November election. Bush is not the first to lose her primary, and she may not be the last. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) faces her own primary challenge on Tuesday against former Councilman Don Samuels in a rematch from 2022.

Following Bush's primary loss last Tuesday, the possibility of Omar losing her own race on August 13 became a trending topic over X. In addition to the momentum to send more members of the anti-Israel Squad packing, there's other reasons Omar could lose her primary, especially since Republicans and Independents can also vote.

StopAntisemitism has put out several posts with such a reminder, and one is currently a pinned post for their account. 

Samuels came awfully close in 2022, losing with 48.2 percent of the vote to Omar's 50.3 percent, or about 2,500 votes out of over 114,500 cast. 

Plenty has happened in two years' time, including but not only the October 7 attack that Israel suffered at the hands of Hamas terrorists. Days after the attack, Omar took to posting anti-Israel narratives over X. She's also participated in anti-Israel events since then with fellow Squad members. 

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She, like her fellow Squad members, has voted against legislation to do with supporting Israel and taking a stance against antisemitism. Her daughter was also suspended from Columbia University for participating in pro-Hamas protests, and the congresswoman even said that Jewish students were "pro-genocide" for supporting Israel when she visited campus. Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) moved to censure the congresswoman for such remarks. 

That being said, Omar has had a history of antisemitism for years, though it's long been excused by the Democratic Party. Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) even claimed she supposedly didn't know what she was saying. 

Omar's problems aren't merely limited to Israel, though. Video footage shared earlier this year speaks to concerns about Omar's loyalty to Somalia while serving as a congresswoman in the United States. 

The congresswoman's Somali interests are ironic, and hypocritical as StopAntisemitism also highlighted, given how her antisemitism also involves "promot[ing] antisemitic tropes of dual loyalty against American Jews."

The congresswoman is also tied to the state's Democratic governor, Tim Walz, who was just selected as Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate. He's endorsed Omar before, and Omar expressed her own excitement at Walz being selected for such a position. In addition to controversies involving stolen valor, Walz has also set off alarm bells after a report revealed he hosted a pro-Hamas imam who has also shared pro-Hitler links from his Facebook.

Dalia Al-Aqidi, a Republican candidate for the race, recently told Fox News that Walz is "behind [Omar] 100%" and believes that the governor is just as bad as the Squad member. "Saying Walz is moderate is just like saying Ilhan Omar is pro-Israel," Al-Aqidi also shared. 

If she were to lose her primary race, Omar would follow not only Bush, but also Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), who lost his primary to Westchester County Executive George Latimer in June by double digits. Those two Squad members came into office by unseating Democratic incumbents in 2020 primaries. Omar replaced former Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison, who decided not run for reelection in 2018 and now serve as Minnesota's Attorney General. Ellison has been campaigning for Omar in her reelection bid.