After a tough summer at the ballot box for members of the so-called “Squad,” the group of progressive and diverse House Democrats is facing its final intraparty challenge on Tuesday as four states in the Midwest and New England hold primary elections.
Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota faces voters one week after her fellow Squad member, Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, lost her bid for re-nomination and nearly two months after another Squad member, Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York, fell to his primary challenger.
But Omar, who made history as the first Somali American in Congress and the first woman of color to represent Minnesota on Capitol Hill, is the favorite as she faces three primary challengers in the Democrat primary. Omar is seeking a fourth two-year term representing the Minneapolis-anchored 5th Congressional District.
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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images)
Bush and Bowman faced well-funded challengers and millions in outside spending by United Democracy Project, a super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. While Omar is also a very vocal critic of Israel, she hasn’t been targeted by any ads from the United Democracy Project.
And Omar is considered to be in a much better political position than she was two years ago when she narrowly defeated Don Samuels, who for a second straight cycle is her top challenger.
But Samuels, in an interview Monday on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom,” said he’s seen a surge in his fundraising and in volunteers to his campaign in the week since Bush’s defeat. And he said Omar is “divisive and combative. She picks a side including, simply trying to divide her, her constituency, and ignores the other side.”
Minnesota’s primary comes a week after Vice President Harris named the state’s governor, Gov. Tim Walz, as her running mate on the Democrat 2024 ticket. And an old clip of Walz praising Omar has gone viral in recent days.
Vice President Harris greets Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in Eau Claire, Wis., on Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Arguably the highest-profile Squad member, three-term Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, easily crushed her primary challenger in June.
The only other Squad member with a primary yet to come this cycle is Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, who is unchallenged in her September contest.
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Sen. Amy Klobuchar is the overwhelming favorite in a five-candidate Democrat Senate primary as she seeks a fourth six-year term representing Minnesota in the chamber. Eight candidates are running in the GOP Senate primary.
In neighboring Wisconsin, Democrat Sen. Tammy Baldwin is unopposed in her party’s primary as she seeks a third term. Republican businessman Eric Hovde, a real estate developer who’s loaned his campaign $13 million and who is backed by former President Trump, faces nominal opposition in the GOP primary.
Two Democrats are running in their party’s primary in western Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, with the winner taking on Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden, a staunch Trump ally, in November.
And in northeast Wisconsin’s heavily red 8th Congressional District, all eyes are on the GOP primary in the race to fill the seat of former Rep. Mike Gallagher, who left Congress in April. Taking place alongside the primary is a special election for the remainder of Gallagher’s current term, which expires at the end of the year.
In Connecticut, the spotlight is on Republican primaries to challenge two longtime Democrat members of Congress: Sen. Chris Murphy and Rep. Jim Himes.
In Vermont, two Democrats are vying for their party’s gubernatorial nomination, with the winner challenging Republican Gov. Phil Scott in November.
Scott, a moderate Republican and GOP Trump critic, is unopposed in his party’s primary as he seeks a fifth two-year term steering Vermont. Even though Vermont is a reliably blue state. Scott remains popular and grabbed nearly 70% of the vote in his 2022 re-election.