MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, one of the progressive House members known as the “Squad” and a sharp critic of how Israel has conducted the war in Gaza, has won her primary race in Minnesota.
Omar successfully defended her Minneapolis-area 5th District seat against a repeat challenge from former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels, a more centrist liberal whom she only narrowly defeated in the 2022 primary.
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Rep. Ilhan Omar, second from left, walks with her daughters, Isra Hirsi, right, and Ilwad Hirsi, left, and her husband, Tim Mynett, after she talked with media during a campaign stop in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Rep. Ilhan Omar's supporters take a selfie after she won the primary at Nighthawks in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Rep. Ilhan Omar speaks after winning the primary at Nighthawks in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Rep. Ilhan Omar speaks after winning the primary at Nighthawks in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Republican Second Congressional District candidate Tayler Rahm campaigns at the Eagan Fun Fest Parade in Eagan, Minn., Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Jerry Holt/Star Tribune via AP)
Former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels, right, greets supporters as he arrives to his primary night party Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, at the Canopy in Minneapolis. (Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune via AP)
Guests mingle at an election night watch party for Don Samuels in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Ben Hovland/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Former Minneapolis City council member Don Samuels arrives at an election night watch party in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Ben Hovland/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Former Minneapolis City council member Don Samuels greets guests at an election night watch party in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Ben Hovland/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Former Minneapolis City council member Don Samuels greets guests at an election night watch party in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Ben Hovland/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Former Minneapolis City council member Don Samuels walks with members of his campaign after the primary race for Minnesota's fifth congressional district is called for opponent Rep. Ilhan Omar during an election night watch party in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Ben Hovland/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Rep. Ilhan Omar talks with media during a campaign stop in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Rep. Ilhan Omar looks on during a campaign stop in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Rep. Ilhan Omar, second from left, walks with her daughters, Isra Hirsi, right, and Ilwad Hirsi, left, and her husband, Tim Mynett, after she talked with media during a campaign stop in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
FILE - Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill on June 24, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
Republican Second Congressional District candidate Tayler Rahm campaigns at the Eagan Fun Fest Parade in Eagan, Minn., Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Jerry Holt/Star Tribune via AP)
Candidate Joe Teirab speaks during a Congressional candidate forum for Minnesota's first and second districts at Farmfest in Morgan, Minn., on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (Shari L. Gross/Star Tribune via AP)
FILE - Republican Senate candidate Royce White talks during an interview with The Associated Press in Minneapolis, July 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski, file)
FILE - Republican Senate candidate Joe Fraser speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Minneapolis, July 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)
FILE - Former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels poses for a picture at his home, Nov. 10, 2023, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski, file)
FILE - Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., speaks during a news conference, May 24, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
Speaking to supporters in Minneapolis, Omar echoed some of the themes of the Harris-Walz presidential campaign.
“We run the politics of joy," she said. "Because we know it is joyful to fight for your neighbors. ... We know it is joyful to make sure housing is a human right. We know it is joyful to fight for health care to be a human right. We know it is joyful to want to live in a peaceful and equitable world.”
Omar avoided the fate of two fellow Squad members. Rep. Cori Bush lost the Democratic nomination in her Missouri district last week, and Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York lost his primary in June. Both faced well-funded challengers and millions of dollars in spending by the United Democracy Project, a super political action committee affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which appeared to sit out the Minnesota race.
Samuels had criticized Omar’s condemnation of the Israeli government’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war. While Omar has also criticized Hamas for attacking Israel and taking hostages, Samuels said she’s one-sided and divisive. He also stressed public safety issues in Minneapolis, where a former police officer murdered George Floyd in 2020.
Samuels said he was “very disappointed” with his loss.
“What I was hoping is that a strong ground game and an attention to the details of folks who felt left out would trump an overwhelming superiority in dollars,” he said in an interview. “Clearly money matters a little more in politics than I had hoped."
Omar reported raising about $6.2 million. Samuels raised about $1.4 million.
Omar will face Republican Dalia Al-Aqidi, an Iraqi American journalist and self-described secular Muslim who calls Omar pro-Hamas.
Meanwhile, conservative populist and former NBA player Royce White defeated Navy veteran Joe Fraser in Minnesota’s primary election for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar in November.
And former federal prosecutor Joe Teirab, supported by former President Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson and the National Republican Congressional Committee, won a contested GOP primary for Minnesota’s 2nd District seat held by Democratic Rep. Angie Craig.
His opponent, defense attorney Tayler Rahm, won the endorsement at the district convention with support from grassroots conservatives.
While Rahm announced in July that he was suspending his campaign and would instead serve as a senior adviser for Trump’s Minnesota campaign, he remained on the ballot.
Teirab will face Craig in what’s expected to be Minnesota’s most competitive House race in November.
“Tonight’s definitive results send a clear message that Republicans are united and ready for change," Teirab said in a statement. "We are ready to support candidates who will strengthen our economy, secure the border, and restore safety in our communities.”
Craig issued a statement calling him “a guy who recently moved to the district because he saw a political opportunity."
“He’s a guy who has spent months doing anything to win the support of Washington Republicans,” Craig said. "And he’s a guy who has made it his life’s mission to take away reproductive freedoms from families and give those decisions to politicians.”
In the U.S. Senate race, White — an ally of imprisoned former Trump aide Steve Bannon and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones — shocked many political observers when he defeated Fraser at the party convention for the GOP endorsement.
White's social media comments have been denounced as misogynistic, homophobic, antisemitic and profane. His legal and financial problems include unpaid child support and questionable campaign spending, including $1,200 spent at a Florida strip club after he lost his primary challenge to Omar in 2022. He argues that, as a Black man, he can broaden the party’s base by appealing to voters of color in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and others disillusioned with establishment politics.
Following his win, White said in a post on the social platform X: “Bring it on commies… The People Are Coming.”
Democratic leaders denounced him as a far-right extremist.
"While Royce White’s language and policies seek to divide Minnesotans, Senator Amy Klobuchar is focused on bringing people together to get things done, and she is consistently ranked as one of the most bipartisan and effective legislators in the Senate," Ken Martin, the state Democratic Party chair, said in a statement. "The choice this November could not be more clear.”
Fraser said earlier that White’s confrontational style and message won’t attract the moderates and independents needed for a competitive challenge against Klobuchar, who's seeking a fourth term. He said he offered a more mainstream approach, stressing fiscal conservativism, a strong defense, world leadership and small government. Fraser has also highlighted his 26 years in the Navy, where he was an intelligence officer and served a combat tour in Iraq.
Neither had anywhere near the resources that Klobuchar has. White last reported raising $133,000, while Fraser took in $68,000. Klobuchar, meanwhile, has collected about $19 million this cycle and has more than $6 million available to spend on the general election campaign. She faced only nominal primary opposition.
Another clash between establishment and grassroots Republicans played out in western Minnesota's 7th District. Trump-backed GOP Rep. Michelle Fischbach, considered one of the most conservative members of Congress, defeated small businessman Steve Boyd. Boyd ran to her right on a religious platform and blocked her from getting endorsement at the district convention. Boyd reported spending $170,000, while Fischbach spent over $1 million.
Among the legislative primaries on the ballot Tuesday, Democrats picked former state Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart to face Republican Kathleen Fowke in a high-stakes race that will determine not only which party controls the state Senate, but whether Democrats maintain their narrow “trifecta” control of both chambers and the governor’s office. Democrats used that power to pass an ambitious agenda over the last two years that helped put Gov. Tim Walz on the radar of Vice President Kamala Harris before she picked him to be her running mate.
It will be the only state Senate seat in the November ballot. The seat in the western Minneapolis suburbs had been held by Democrat Kelly Morrison, who will face Republican Tad Jude for Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District seat.
This story has been updated to correct that Angie Craig represents the 2nd District, not the 1st District.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2024 election at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.
Rep. Ilhan Omar's supporters take a selfie after she won the primary at Nighthawks in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Rep. Ilhan Omar speaks after winning the primary at Nighthawks in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Rep. Ilhan Omar speaks after winning the primary at Nighthawks in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Republican Second Congressional District candidate Tayler Rahm campaigns at the Eagan Fun Fest Parade in Eagan, Minn., Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Jerry Holt/Star Tribune via AP)
Former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels, right, greets supporters as he arrives to his primary night party Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, at the Canopy in Minneapolis. (Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune via AP)
Guests mingle at an election night watch party for Don Samuels in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Ben Hovland/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Former Minneapolis City council member Don Samuels arrives at an election night watch party in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Ben Hovland/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Former Minneapolis City council member Don Samuels greets guests at an election night watch party in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Ben Hovland/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Former Minneapolis City council member Don Samuels greets guests at an election night watch party in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Ben Hovland/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Former Minneapolis City council member Don Samuels walks with members of his campaign after the primary race for Minnesota's fifth congressional district is called for opponent Rep. Ilhan Omar during an election night watch party in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Ben Hovland/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Rep. Ilhan Omar talks with media during a campaign stop in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Rep. Ilhan Omar looks on during a campaign stop in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
Rep. Ilhan Omar, second from left, walks with her daughters, Isra Hirsi, right, and Ilwad Hirsi, left, and her husband, Tim Mynett, after she talked with media during a campaign stop in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
FILE - Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill on June 24, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
Republican Second Congressional District candidate Tayler Rahm campaigns at the Eagan Fun Fest Parade in Eagan, Minn., Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Jerry Holt/Star Tribune via AP)
Candidate Joe Teirab speaks during a Congressional candidate forum for Minnesota's first and second districts at Farmfest in Morgan, Minn., on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (Shari L. Gross/Star Tribune via AP)
FILE - Republican Senate candidate Royce White talks during an interview with The Associated Press in Minneapolis, July 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski, file)
FILE - Republican Senate candidate Joe Fraser speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Minneapolis, July 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)
FILE - Former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels poses for a picture at his home, Nov. 10, 2023, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski, file)
FILE - Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., speaks during a news conference, May 24, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
President Donald Trump moved to end a decades-old immigration policy known as birthright citizenship when he ordered the cancellation of the constitutional guarantee that U.S.-born children are citizens regardless of their parents’ status.
Trump's roughly 700-word executive order, issued late Monday, amounts to a fulfillment of something he's talked about during the presidential campaign. But whether it succeeds is far from certain as attorneys general in 18 states and two cities challenged the order in court on Tuesday, seeking to block the president.
Here's a closer look at birthright citizenship, Trump's executive order and reaction to it:
Birthright citizenship means anyone born in the U.S. is a citizen, regardless of their parents' immigration status. People, for instance, in the United States on a tourist or other visa or in the country illegally can become the parents of a citizen if their child is born here.
It's been in place for decades and enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, supporters say. But Trump and allies dispute the reading of the amendment and say there need to be tougher standards on becoming a citizen.
The order questions that the 14th Amendment extends citizenship automatically to anyone born in the United States.
The 14th Amendment was born in the aftermath of the Civil War and ratified in 1868. It says: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
Trump's order excludes the following people from automatic citizenship: those whose mothers were not legally in the United States and whose fathers were not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents; people whose mothers were in the country legally but on a temporary basis and whose fathers were not citizens or legal permanent residents.
It goes on to bar federal agencies from recognizing the citizenship of people in those categories. It takes effect 30 days from Tuesday, on Feb. 19.
The 14th Amendment did not always guarantee birthright citizenship to all U.S.-born people. Congress did not authorize citizenship for all Native Americans born in the United States, for instance, until 1924.
In 1898 an important birthright citizenship case unfolded in the U.S. Supreme Court. The court held that Wong Kim Ark, who was born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrants, was a U.S. citizen because he was born in the country. After a trip abroad, he had faced denied reentry by the federal government on the grounds that he wasn't a citizen under the Chinese Exclusion Act.
But some advocates of immigration restrictions have argued that while the case clearly applied to children born to parents who are both legal immigrants, it’s less clear whether it applies to children born to parents without legal status.
Eighteen states, plus the District of Columbia and San Francisco sued in federal court to block Trump's order.
New Jersey Democratic Attorney General Matt Platkin said Tuesday the president cannot undo a right written into the Constitution with a stroke of his pen.
“Presidents have broad power but they are not kings,” Platkin said.
Not long after Trump signed the order, immigrant rights groups filed suit to stop it.
Chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union in New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts along with other immigrant rights advocates filed a suit in New Hampshire federal court.
The suit asks the court to find the order to be unconstitutional. It highlights the case of a woman identified as “Carmen," who is pregnant but is not a citizen. The lawsuit says she has lived in the United States for more than 15 years and has a pending visa application that could lead to permanent status. She has no other immigration status, and the father of her expected child has no immigration status either, the suit says.
“Stripping children of the ‘priceless treasure’ of citizenship is a grave injury,” the suit said. "It denies them the full membership in U.S. society to which they are entitled."
In addition to New Jersey and the two cities, California, Massachusetts, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin joined the lawsuit to stop the order.
President-elect Donald Trump, from left, takes the oath of office as Barron Trump and Melania Trump watch at the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP)
President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
U.S. flags around the Washington Monument are at full staff during the 60th Presidential Inauguration, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. Flags are supposed to fly at half-staff through the end of January out of respect for former President Jimmy Carter, who died Dec. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
A young man reacts to information on how to prepare for the upcoming changes to undocumented families living in the U.S., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Sonia Rosa Sifore and other anti-Trump protesters gather in Federal Plaza to rally for a number of issues, including immigrant rights, the Israel-Hamas war, women's reproductive rights, racial equality and others, on the day of President Trump's Inauguration, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
President Donald Trump signs an executive order on birthright citizenship in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)