2022 MN CD-05 Dem Primary

The 2022 MN 5th Congressional District primary, a contest between Incumbent Squad member Ilhan Omar and Former Minneapolis City Councilman Don Samuels resulted in a much closer than expected win for Omar—nearly toppling one of the four original squad members.

Here, Omar's past controvercial Statements, in addition to supporting the controvercial—and defeated—amendment that would've replaced the Minneapolis police department with a new public safety agency proved to be a major liability for her.

Moreover, the suport from local Pols such as Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (whom Omar endorsed against in his reelection) also likely contributed to Omar's close win.

Most importantly, the issue that likely was most decisive in this close race was Omar mostly spending her money on canvasing, door knocking and other such operations to the detriment of television advertisements—alowing Samuels to dominate the conversation on his terms.

However, in the end, she did win, with the suport of national Democrats such as Nancy Pelosi, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez & Elizabeth Warren, and most importantly her incumbency giving her a strong enough base of support to guard against Samuel's challenge.