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By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
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Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar won the Democratic primary in Minnesota's 5th Congressional District on Tuesday, defeating former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels with a bigger margin than in the party's 2022 primary.
With all 217 precincts reporting results, Omar, a progressive who has been a sharp critic of Israel's war in Gaza, won 56.23 percent of the vote, while Samuels got 42.91 percent, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State's office.
In 2022, Omar won the Democratic primary with 50.35 percent of the vote, while Samuels garnered 48.2 percent.
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The results were questioned on social media by MAGA Republican accounts. Omar, who is Black and Muslim, has repeatedly faced attacks from former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, and is frequently the target of hostile, including racist, attacks from Trump-supporting accounts online.
"Why did it take 70+ minutes to count 5k votes in Ilhan Omar's district? Countries count millions in 70 minutes," the "End Wokeness" account on X, formerly Twitter, wrote in a post.
Gunther Eagleman, a supporter of Trump, responded to the post, writing that the contest was "rigged."
Others said that MAGA Republicans would not be suspicious about the results if Omar had won.
"It's the same story every election. If Ilhan Omar had lost with the same reporting interval, MAGA wouldn't be crying about it," one person wrote.
Omar's campaign has been contacted for comment via email.
Omar's win meant she avoided the fate of two fellow "Squad" members—Rep. Cori Bush, who lost the Democratic nomination in her Missouri district last week, and Rep. Jamaal Bowman, who lost his primary in New York in June.
Both Bush and Bowman lost to pro-Israel candidates backed by the United Democracy Project, a super political action committee affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. AIPAC appeared to sit out the Minnesota race, according to The Associated Press.
"Tonight's victory shows that the Fifth District believes in the collective values we are fighting for in Washington," Omar wrote on X late on Tuesday night.
"We have a lot to be proud of. We brought home $54 million for local projects that will improve the lives of generations to come. We passed the most impactful pieces of legislation in decades. And our work is far from over. From protecting reproductive healthcare to reforming the Supreme Court to ending the genocide in Gaza to combatting the climate crisis—we will continue to fight for a more just world."
She added: "Tonight, special interests lost and our movement won. Thank you to everyone who was a part of it. Every single person who contributed made this moment possible. This seat is for all of us. I will continue to take our hopes and dreams to the People's House."
Omar will face Republican Dalia Al-Aqidi, an Iraqi American journalist who has accused Omar of being "pro-Hamas." However, she is unlikely to be unseated as she is running in a heavily Democratic district and won re-election for a third term in 2022 with 74 percent of the vote.
Update 8/14/24, 3:50 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to add additional information.
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