One of the most vocal left-wing members of the Squad is heading back to Congress.
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar easily dispatched primary challenger Antone Melton-Meaux and three others in the Minnesota primary on Tuesday night, securing a double-digit victory. Omar won even though Melton-Meaux essentially matched her fundraising totals by raising more than $4 million, with support from pro-Israel super PACs.
Because of the money backing Melton-Meaux, and because Omar has come under fire in her first term for comments she’s made about the influence of the Israel lobby on American politics, she was seen as a prime target for a primary from the center. Though Melton-Meaux shared many of her policy preferences, he attacked her during the campaign as a “divider” more focused on growing the progressive movement than working for the district.
Ultimately, it didn’t work. As of Tuesday morning, Omar had 57 percent of the vote to Melton-Meaux’s 39 percent, while three other candidates combined for roughly three percent of the vote.
Omar’s win is the latest victory for the freshman Squad of legislators seeking re-election to Congress next year. After upsetting longtime Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley in 2018, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez earned three-quarters of the vote in her June primary challenge from former CNBC contributor Michelle Caruso-Cabrera. And last week, Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib soundly defeated former Detroit city council president Brenda Jones in a rematch from 2018.
The fourth member of the Squad, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, is not facing a primary challenge in her Boston-area district. All four represent deep-blue districts, meaning they’re virtually guaranteed to win re-election in November.
Cover: In this Feb. 29, 2020 file photo, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., speaks at a rally in Springfield, Mass. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh File)
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