U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, a member of the progressive “Team,” is facing repeated primary challenges in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, one of the progressive House members known as “The Team” and a sharp critic of Israel’s handling of the Gaza war, is trying to avoid the fate of two of his closest his allies. in Tuesday’s Minnesota primary election.

Omar is defending his Minneapolis-area 5th District seat against a repeated challenge from former Minneapolis City Councilman Don Samuels, a more centrist liberal whom he narrowly defeated in the 2022 primary.

In the main statewide race on the ballot, conservative populist and former NBA player Royce White faces a more conventional GOP candidate, Navy veteran Joe Fraser, for the right to challenge Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

Meanwhile, two newcomers are in a bitter battle for the GOP nomination to challenge Democratic Rep. Angie Craig in November in the largely suburban 2nd District.

Omar’s running mate, Rep. Cori Bush, lost the Democratic nomination in Missouri last week. Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York lost the primary in June. The only incumbent not facing a primary challenge is Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts.

Both Bush and Bowman have faced well-funded challengers and millions of dollars in spending from the United Democracy Project, a super political action committee affiliated with the American Public Affairs Committee in Israel, which appears to be out of the running in Minnesota.

But Omar does not take the victory for granted. Omar reported spending $2.3 million ahead of the 2022 primary. At the same time this year, she reported raising about $6.2 million. Samuels raised about $1.4 million.

Omar — a Somali-American and Muslim — came under fire from the Jamaican-born Samuels and others in her first term for comments that were widely criticized for invoking anti-Semitic tropes and suggesting that American Jews have divided loyalties. This time, Samuels criticized her 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 says it is one-sided and divisive. He also highlighted the public safety issues he was focused on in 2022. The big issue at the time was the police in Minneapolis, where a former police officer killed George Floyd in 2020.

Polls closed at 8 p.m. in Minnesota, but results in the Omar-Samuel race were expected to take some time. Hennepin County, which includes all of Minneapolis and all but a few communities in their district, had not released any results from the March presidential primary until 9:40 p.m., when the county released nearly all of its ballots.

County officials said they expect a similar timeline for Tuesday’s primary because of a legislative change passed this year that allows ballots to be left until 8 p.m., which has led to slower reporting of the results.

The winner of the overwhelmingly Democratic district will face Republican Dalia Al-Aqidi, an Iraqi-American journalist and self-described secular Muslim who calls Omar pro-Hamas and a terrorist sympathizer.

In the US Senate race, White — an ally of former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones — shocked many political observers when he beat Fraser at the party convention for the GOP endorsement.

White’s comments on social media have been denounced as misogynistic, homophobic, anti-Semitic and profane. His legal and financial issues include unpaid child support and questionable campaign expenses, including $1,200 spent at a strip club in Florida, after he lost his primary challenge to Omar in 2022. He claims that as a man of color, can broaden the party’s base by appealing. black voters in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and others were disappointed with the policy of the institution.

Fraser said White’s confrontational style and message won’t attract the moderates and independents needed for a competitive challenge against Klobuchar, who is seeking a fourth term. He said he offers a more general approach, emphasizing fiscal conservatism, a strong defense, world leadership and small government. Fraser also highlighted his 26 years in the Navy, where he was an intelligence officer and served a combat tour in Iraq.

Neither has anywhere near the resources that Klobuchar has. White last reported raising $133,000, while Fraser took in $68,000. Meanwhile, Klobuchar has raised about $19 million this cycle and has more than $6 million available to spend on the campaign trail. She faces only nominal primary opposition.

Craig is gearing up for what is expected to be Minnesota’s most competitive House race in November. To challenge it are former federal prosecutor Joe Teirab and defense attorney Tayler Rahm. Teirab has the support of Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson and the National Republican Congressional Committee. He was better funded than Rahm, who won the endorsement at the district convention with the support of grassroots conservatives.

While Rahm announced in July that he was suspending his campaign and would instead serve as a senior adviser to Trump’s Minnesota campaign, he will still be on the ballot and has not completely shut down his campaign.

Another clash between establishment and grassroots Republicans is taking place in western Minnesota’s 7th District. GOP Rep. Michelle Fischbach is considered one of the most conservative members of Congress and has Trump’s endorsement. But small businessman Steve Boyd, running to her right on a religious platform, prevented her from gaining approval at the district convention. Boyd said he spent $170,000, while Fischbach spent more than $1 million.

___

This story has been updated to correct that Angie Craig represents District 2, not District 1.

___

Follow AP’s coverage of the 2024 election at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.