Breaking news, John:

The Democratic primary election in MN-05 is over, and Justice Democrats incumbent Rep. Ilhan Omar has handily won re-election!

In Don Samuels’ 2nd-attempt to challenge Ilhan, she expanded her victory to 13 points, increasing her margin of victory by more than 10 points — all despite a last-ditch effort by Samuels and AIPAC allies to coordinate, organize, and fund Republican support for his campaign.

Ilhan’s victory is a reflection of the progressive leadership that Democratic voters want to see in Congress when their elections are not turned into auctions for the highest billionaire bidders. Justice Democrats has supported and endorsed Ilhan since her first race in 2018 when she was elected one of our first progressive champions in Congress.

Since then, Ilhan has been a national leader on progressive policies that put the people of MN-05 first, including the Homes for All Act which would make a homes guarantee a reality, and the Universal School Meals Act which would guarantee free school meals for every child nationwide—which local leaders used as a model when they passed a state-level counterpart signed into law by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

She’s also been an outspoken leader for progressive foreign policy from her Pathway to PEACE platform to a ceasefire in Gaza, while serving families and children with visionary policies on housing, food costs, justice reform, healthcare, and climate change. She cruised to re-election because of that leadership, not in spite of it.

Ilhan truly embodies what it looks like to lead with a vision for her community’s future in mind at the federal level while delivering real results for the people of her district every day. We couldn’t be more proud of her work and this win to keep her fighting in Congress.

Yesterday’s election was the last 2024 Democratic primary during which a member of the Squad will face off against AIPAC-backed opponents. This year has proven that right-wing interests and MAGA megadonors see the Squad as an existential threat to their extremist agenda.

In nearly every primary this cycle, our progressive champions in Congress faced the organized efforts of AIPAC, Republican megadonors, right-wing Super PACs, and corporate interests who were united in their desire to drag our democracy through the mud to protect their own self-interests and profits.

This race looks more like what our democracy could look like if we end the influence and bottomless spending of dark money corporate Super PACs in our elections and put people back at the center of our democracy, and democracy back at the center of our Party.

Our movement has suffered immeasurable losses this cycle, but the backlash from monied corporate and right-wing interests proves not only are we succeeding — but our mandate to elect more Justice Democrats and take big money out of politics is abundantly clear.

Today, we celebrate this win, but tomorrow, we get back to work to regroup and rebuild our young, diverse, working-class bloc of progressives in Congress. If you can, help us get started by pitching in $5 now.

Thanks for all you’ve done to fuel Justice Democrats, protect the Squad, and re-elect leaders like Ilhan during this critical primary election season.

In solidarity,

Alexandra Rojas
Executive Director