Daily Times

‘US Representative Ilhan Omar held off a well-funded challenger Tuesday and won the Democratic primary in her congressional district, putting her on track for re-election in November along with other members of the “Squad” of four liberal freshmen. Omar defeated attorney Antone Melton-Meaux, who had accused her of prioritizing her celebrity over her constituents, and several other challengers, the New York Times said. One of the first two Muslim women to be elected to Congress in 2018, Omar won 57.2% of the vote Tuesday compared with 39.4% for Melton-Meaux in Minnesota’s 5th district, the Times said. She is likely to win again in November in the solidly Democratic district. “In Minnesota, we know that organized people will always beat organized money,” Omar, 37, said in a statement. “Despite outside efforts to defeat us, we once again broke turnout records.” Progressive Democrats have generally done well this primary cycle. With Omar’s victory, all four members of the liberal group of congresswomen nicknamed the “Squad” are expected to be re-elected in the autumn. The best-known “Squad” member, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, dispatched a primary challenger in June. Last week Representative Rashida Tlaib won her primary, and the fourth Squad member, Representative Ayanna Pressley, is running unopposed in her primary in Massachusetts next month.