Ilhan Omar, a vocal critic of Israel and member of the team, wins the primary

Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, the progressive lightning rod whose relentless criticism of Israel has deepened Democratic Party fissures over the Gaza war, won the primary on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.

While she prevailed, it was a difficult summer for “the team”, the ultra-liberal faction of parliamentarians.

Two other members of the group, Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York and Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, suffered defeats in the June and August primaries after pro-Israel groups spent millions trying to influence those contests.

Ms. Omar, 41, who is seeking a fourth term in Congress, outspent her three opponents, including Don Samuels, a former Minneapolis city councilman, who came within 2,500 votes of to her elimination in the 2022 primary. Unlike several other primary contests, Ms. Omar’s race did not see a large amount of campaign spending coming from outside the district.

Midway through Donald J. Trump’s 2018 presidency, Ms. Omar was one of several black women from the far left of the Democratic Party to be elected to the House. That group includes Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts.

Mr Trump said in 2019 that Ms Omar and the three other women should “return” to their countries, although she was the only one not born in the United States.

Ms Omar, who was born in Somalia and is one of two Muslim women in Parliament, has faced backlash for Israel and her pro-Palestinian beliefs.

In 2023, House Republicans removed Ms. Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee in a party-line vote over her previous comments about Israel, which were widely condemned as anti-Semitic.

While showing her support for pro-Palestinian protesters at a camp at Columbia University in April, Ms. Omar caused a stir when she suggested that some Jewish students were “pro-genocide.” Her daughter was one of several students who were suspended for attending the camp.