In another Minnesota district, Rep. Fischbach fended off a GOP primary challenge from a populist candidate.
MINNEAPOLIS—Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is the projected winner of the Democratic primary in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District. She fended off a challenge from a moderate Democrat in a close contest.
Omar, who has represented the district that covers most of metropolitan Minneapolis for three terms, defeated former Minnesota City Council Member Don Samuels, her principal opponent.
Omar is the first Somali-American and hijab-wearing lawmaker elected to Congress and is a member of the “Squad”—a group of progressive House Democrats who are ethnic minorities. She has been critical of Israel, and even charged that the Jewish state is committing a “genocide” in Gaza.
Samuels took a different position from Omar on Gaza during the campaign by emphasizing Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorists.
Several voters in Minneapolis who spoke with The Epoch Times expressed varying opinions about Omar and the contest.
“Ilhan has been in it for a while … she’s Somali, and she’s a female, and a Muslim and all of that. I don’t know what would this other gentleman bring,” said Hibo Firin, a worker in the Ceder-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis, often known as “Little Somalia” and an Omar stronghold.
“I’m still kind of slightly undecided, but due to [Samuels’s] age, he’s 75, I’m thinking I’m going to stay with her,’” Georgia Scott, a Democratic voter in South Minneapolis who lives near the site of George Floyd’s death, told The Epoch Times the day before the election. “[Samuels] might have a more well-rounded approach to handling adversity,” she added.
“Ilhan Omar has an office space a couple of blocks away … [yet] I don’t see change right here,” said Marquise Bowie, a community organizer in the same neighborhood. “This [place] could look a lot better four years later.”
Crime and drug use were the issues most frequently mentioned by voters to The Epoch Times as affecting their electoral decisions. “It’s definitely a big issue … It’s not very safe over here, really,” Kaylon King, a student at the University of Minnesota and a Minnesota National Guardsman, told The Epoch Times.
Stephen Cantrew, a resident of the Dinkytown neighborhood of East Minneapolis, told The Epoch Times, said he is concerned about the crime rate, and that it’s related to “police defunding,” an issue championed by Omar.
Rep. Fischbach Fends Off GOP Primary Challenge
In Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District, Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-Minn.) was projected as the winner of the Republican primary election on Tuesday night, fending off a challenge from a populist candidate.
Fischbach, a two-term member of Congress who flipped a Democratic-held seat in 2020, defeated Steve Boyd, a business owner and homeschool parent.
Fischbach unseated 30-year incumbent Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) in 2020. She has emphasized her pro-life record, support for the Second Amendment and border security, and renegotiating trade deals to benefit farmers.
Boyd’s campaign, similarly, emphasized agriculture and social issues as his top priorities.
Fischbach’s victory makes her the likely winner of the general election in November. Minnesota’s 7th District is heavily Republican.
Original News Source Link – Epoch Times
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