Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) on Aug. 9 defeated former Minneapolis city council member Don Samuels in the Democratic primary for Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District.
With more than 95 percent of the votes counted at 11:57 p.m., Omar received 50 percent of the votes, and Samuels received 48 percent.
Omar, 39, is a high-profile member of Capitol Hill’s new generation of progressive Democrats. She is the first Somali-American elected to Congress.
Omar has supported the “defund the police” movement. She backed a proposal to replace the Minneapolis Police Department with a new Department of Public Safety.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.)—the other members of the progressive “squad” in Congress—advanced in their Democratic primaries last week….