What Went Down In Elections In Minnesota, Wisconsin, Vermont And Connecticut
We’re now at 96 percent of the expected vote in for Minnesota’s 5th District and Omar is still hanging in there — albeit barely so! She currently leads Samuels 51 to 48 percent.
Latest count in Minnesota’s 5th District Democratic primary
Results of the Democratic primary for Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, as of 9:40 p.m. Eastern
| Candidate | Votes | Vote % |
|---|---|---|
| Ilhan Omar* | 48,960 | 51.0% |
| Don Samuels | 45,704 | 47.6 |
| Nate Schluter | 558 | 0.6 |
| AJ Kern | 432 | 0.4 |
| Albert Ross | 399 | 0.4 |
Amelia, I was thinking a lot of the same, honestly. Of course, she’s not the only Muslim member of The Squad, but I do wonder how much racism, misogynoir and xenophobia play a factor here …
It’s a fascinating question, Alex. Omar has had some high-profile gaffes — like last year when she was criticized by fellow Democratic House members for a tweet that appeared to compare the U.S. and Israel to the Taliban and Hamas — but I wonder if it’s also related to the fact that it’s just really hard to be a Muslim woman in elected office in the U.S., particularly one who, like Omar, wears a hijab. Maybe that makes her more vulnerable to challenges generally?