Ilhan Omar Survives Primary Race Following Two Defeats for 'Squad'

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), vocal critic of Israel and one of the progressive House members known as “The Squad,” pulled off a win Tuesday night in her primary race against rival Minneapolis city councilman Don Samuels.

Omar managed to avoid losses faced by fellow Squad members, Reps. Cori Bush of Missouri and Jamaal Bowman of New York. The primary opponents of Bush and Bowman were backed by the super PAC United Democracy Project, the political arm of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). In both races combined, AIPAC invested nearly $24 million to take out two of the most prominent members of the left-wing cohort. 

“Our sole criterion for supporting candidates or opposing candidates is their position on the U.S.-Israel relationship,” AIPAC spokesperson Marshall Wittmann told The Hill after Bush’s loss. 

Squad members, including Omar, have harshly condemned Israel’s military action in Gaza following the Oct. 7 terrorist attack by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. Omar, who is one of two Muslim women in the House, called Jewish people who support the Israeli military campaign “pro-genocide,” a comment dubbed antisemitic by a prominent rabbi and many others.

United Democracy Project spent $350,000 in an attempt to unseat Omar in 2022, and as a result the congresswoman came within two points of losing to Samuels. But AIPAC’s political arm did not make a play for her seat this time around, allowing her to sail to victory by a 13-point margin.

Omar is the last of the Squad to face a serious challenge in the primaries, so the rest of the progressive coalition will remain intact. Yet AIPAC’s fundraising proved to the most progressive members of Congress that they have no organized way to counteract that kind of money, especially if they continue to take stances that upset powerful PACs, like that on Israel.

The situation in the Middle East is not abating but growing ever more tense, as fears of an Iranian attack on Israel loom large and the death toll in Gaza nears 40,000. Peace talks scheduled for Thursday are in limbo as Hamas leaders cast doubt on whether they would attend ready to discuss the ceasefire and hostage release deal currently on the table. United States officials are hopeful that the talks will continue in spite of resistance.

“We fully expect talks to move forward, as they should. All negotiators should return to the table and bring this deal to conclusion,” State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said.

The Biden-Harris administration would benefit politically from a successful peace deal ahead of the Democratic National Convention next week. As it stands, organizers of the pro-Palestine movement say they will turn out in the tens of thousands to protest the United States’ support of the Israeli military.

Some Democratic leaders hoped that Vice President Kamala Harris’ rise to the top of the ticket would deter protestors, as she has been more vocally critical of Israeli action in Gaza than President Joe Biden ever was. Yet Harris has not described the situation in Gaza as a genocide – like Omar and other progressive Democratic members of Congress – and has vowed to continue supporting Israel as the country faces threats from Iran. To some supporters of Palestine, Harris has not gone nearly far enough to denounce Israel. 

When discussing the DNC protests with the Washington Post, Palestinian activist Hamza AbdulQader said he expects tens of thousands of people in the streets, and that it’s too late to stop the movement. “Unless [Harris] clearly takes a stance and says this is not okay … that door is shut.”