Ilhan Omar wins Democratic primary in a landslide
Muslim congresswoman takes over 80% of vote for fifth term, in a race that for first time drew no major challenger
MINNEAPOLIS (MNTV) — Representative Ilhan Omar has won the Democratic primary in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District by a wide margin, US media projected, moving her a step closer to a fifth term representing the Minneapolis-centered seat.
Omar took 80.7 percent of the vote against four challengers, according to unofficial results from the Minnesota Secretary of State reported by CBS News, finishing with 122,640 votes — far ahead of former federal prosecutor Julie Trang Le and longtime activist Latonya T. Reeves, her nearest rivals.
The 5th District is the most Democratic in Minnesota, meaning the primary winner is heavily favored in November.
Omar will face Republican nominee John Nagel, a retired state patrol lieutenant, who won his primary with about 52 percent.
The margin was striking after two closer contests: Omar won her 2022 primary by about two points and her 2024 primary by 13. This year, for the first time, she faced no major opponent — her strong 2024 showing appears to have discouraged a repeat challenge from former Minneapolis councilman Don Samuels or other well-funded rivals.
Notably, unlike fellow progressives in the group of left-wing House members known as the “Squad,” Omar did not face heavy spending from outside groups such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the pro-Israel lobbying group whose affiliated super PAC helped defeat several of her allies in past cycles.
Omar, a Somali-born former refugee who in 2018 became one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, framed the November election as a direct confrontation with President Donald Trump’s administration, citing his immigration crackdown as a central concern and pledging to pursue government-run universal health care, restrictions on immigration enforcement, and reproductive rights.
She has long been a target of Trump and his supporters, who have questioned her citizenship and mocked her Somali heritage.
The win came days after Omar reported that a Homeland Security investigator had been spotted outside a town hall she held in Richfield on Aug. 10, an incident she said raised “serious and uncomfortable questions” about the federal presence.
In January, a man sprayed her with apple cider vinegar at a Minneapolis town hall; she responded, “I am not one to be intimidated.”
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