US Representative Ilhan Omar Faces Primary Challenge on Tuesday
Error: Contact form not found.
by Reuters and Algemeiner Staff

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) participates in a news conference, outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, April 10, 2019. Photo: Reuters / Jim Bourg / File.
US Representative Ilhan Omar, one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress and no stranger to criticism from across the aisle, faces a challenge from fellow Democrats hoping to unseat her in a primary election on Tuesday.
“Her progressive politics is a platform of platitudes,” said Antone Melton-Meaux, a Black lawyer who is one of four candidates challenging Omar in her Minneapolis-based district.
A refugee from Somalia, Omar, 37, quickly became a national figure when she was elected in 2018. Republicans rebuked her left-wing politics, and President Donald Trump has falsely accused her of supporting al Qaeda. Republicans and Democrats alike have chided her criticisms of Israel, and she increased her security after death threats.
Melton-Meaux, 47, said Omar is more focused on celebrity than serving her constituents. If elected, he said, “I will do the work.”
Omar’s campaign has said it is not worried about the election outcome. “We’re confident,” spokesman Jeremy Slevin said.
Both Melton-Meaux and Omar have raised over $4 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Police reforms are a top issue in Omar’s district, where George Floyd, a Black man, was killed in police custody in May, touching off nationwide protests.
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Connecticut and Vermont all hold primary elections for Congress on Tuesday. The outcome will help set the stage for Nov. 3 elections to the House of Representatives and Senate that will determine the balance of power in Washington.
In Georgia, meanwhile, a Republican who has made inflammatory comments about Muslims like Omar, Marjorie Taylor Greene, is running for an open House seat.
She faces John Cowan, a neurosurgeon, in a primary runoff. The winner will likely be elected in November in the conservative district.
In videos released in June by Politico, Greene suggested that Omar’s election in 2018 was part of “an Islamic invasion of our government.”
The videos included derogatory comments about Blacks and Jews, and Republican leaders denounced Greene after they surfaced.
Iran Moves to Pull Gaza Into US Talks Amid Bid to Shield Proxy Network
Mamdani-Backed Candidates Sweep NYC Democratic Primaries, Leaving Jewish and Pro-Israel New Yorkers Alarmed
British Doctors’ Union Votes to Scrap IHRA Antisemitism Definition Across UK Health Service
US to Move Forward With Turkey Jet Engine Sales Ahead of NATO Summit, Sources Say
Rubio Defends Iran Deal on Gulf Tour, Israel Insists on Troops in Southern Lebanon
Rubio Meets Gulf Leaders, Pledges Security Amid Iran Deal Doubts
Israel, Lebanon Discuss Pilot Scheme to Hand Over Territory
From the Editor: Don’t Forget the Iranian People
Apartheid? Arab Israeli Appointed Deputy Mayor of Tel Aviv
The False Binary: Why Critics Are Misreading the US-Iran Deal





The False Binary: Why Critics Are Misreading the US-Iran Deal
Meet the Hamas Terrorist Who Masqueraded as an Al Jazeera Journalist
From the Editor: Don’t Forget the Iranian People
Apartheid? Arab Israeli Appointed Deputy Mayor of Tel Aviv
How Israel Was Outsmarted by Iran — and What It Means for Netanyahu’s Legacy



