Controversial Democratic incumbent Ilhan Omar of Minnesota’s 5th congressional district is up for re-election this year, but she will have her work cut out for her in the primary against not one but three formidable opponents.

Campaigning as a progressive who can work with President Joe Biden, Omar’s Democratic primary opponent is currently tied with the progressive squad member in a rematch race, according to the most recent poll.

After trailing Omar by just 2.1 percent in the 2022 primary, former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels is taking on Omar once more in the August 13 primary — and it’s shaping up to be a nail-biter.

It happens at the same time that Omar and other alleged members of the “squad” are drawing criticism for encouraging voters to boycott Biden in the Democratic primary because he supported Israel in its conflict with Hamas terrorists based in the Palestinian territory of Gaza.

The campaign for Samuels released a Victoria Research poll that found 519 Democratic voters in Minnesota’s 5th congressional district to be 41 percent in favor of Omar and Samuels.

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The remaining 18% are either not sure yet or intend to vote in the primary over the summer for a candidate other than Omar or Samuels.

The Samuels campaign, which claims to be a progressive substitute who can genuinely collaborate with Democratic President Biden, made the polling results public on Monday following its collection from February 20–27.

“This poll supports what we already know: We can beat Rep. Ilhan Omar. We talk to exhausted voters around the district every day on the campaign trail, and we hear over and over again how sick and tired they are of the division and dysfunction that define Washington today,” Samuels said in a statement on the results.

“Sadly, many feel that the congresswoman is contributing to this dysfunction and are ready for new leadership focused on building common ground to deliver results for families and working people in the Fifth Congressional District and around the country,” Samuels added.

Omar ‘encouraged an uncommitted vote in Minnesota’s presidential primary and did not even bother to vote’ on Super Tuesday last month, according to Samuels’ campaign.

Samuels lost to Omar by a mere 2,466 votes, or slightly more than 2 percent, in the Democratic House primary of 2022.

Omar is the first woman to wear a headscarf on the House floor and the first elected Somali-American to Congress. She is also a member of the so-called group of progressive lawmakers, which also includes Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), who were first elected to Congress in the 2018 midterm elections.

In their respective Democratic presidential primaries last month, Representatives Omar and Tlaib—a Palestinian-American—both urged progressive voters in their states to cast “uncommitted” ballots.

The endeavor was a form of protest against President Biden’s support of Israel in its conflict with terrorists from Hamas, who operate out of Gaza, a Palestinian enclave.

Due to her ardent support of Palestine and her advocacy for voters to cast “uncommitted” ballots in the 2024 presidential primary in protest of Joe Biden’s pro-Israel policies, Omar has drawn criticism. Shown: Omar speaks with Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian member of the progressive squad.

“If Don gets his message out – that he is a progressive and pragmatic alternative to Rep. Omar without the divisive comments and history of taking unpopular votes – Don starts this race tied, 41% Samuels to 41% Omar,” the candidate’s campaign manager Joe Radinovich explained.

“These results outline Rep. Omar’s vulnerability with her Democratic base in the Fifth Congressional District,” he added.

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