Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont and Wisconsin held primaries Tuesday, with Georgia holding a Republican primary runoff in the state’s 14th Congress District.
But the race that gets the most national attention is in Minnesota, where rep. Ilhan Omar – one of the four members of the group of progressive first-term congresswomen of color known from coast to coast as “The Squad” – faces a Democratic primary challenge from a candidate who has outraised the introduced grandeur.
TOP PRIMARY CHALLENGER LANDS by OMAR BACKING OF GREAT NEWSPAPER OF MINNESOTA
The firebrand freshman lawmaker quickly became a nationally known politician two years ago as one of the first Muslim women to be elected to Congress – and for her outspoken criticism of President Trump. But the attention surrounding the Somali-born progressive lawmaker – and her Twitter feed – has made her a target of Republicans and even some fellow Democrats. And Omar is no stranger to controversy, and asked early in her congressional term to apologize for making comments seen as anti-Semitic.
Omar has supported some of the biggest names in politics – such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, progressive leader sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont – to whom she joined the campaign trail when the populist champion ran for the Democratic presidential nomination.
She also enjoyed the support of leading Minnesota Democrats, such as Gov. Tim Walz, Alderman Peggy Flanagan, State House Speaker Melissa Hortman and Attorney General Keith Ellison. And she has the support of local unions and the state party, as she runs for a second term of two years, representing Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District – which occupies much of the city of Minneapolis and was ground zero for the national protests. jumped by the death of George Floyd into the hands of police.
But in the crucial battle for campaign cash, she was won by Antone Melton-Meaux, her main primary challenger in the field with more candidates.
The lawyer and mediator hit $ 3.2 million in the fourth quarter of June in the amount of $ 3.2 million, according to allegations by the Federal Election Commission. That far surpassed Omar, who raised nearly half a million dollars in the same period. Melton-Meaux reported that at the end of June he had $ 2 million in his campaign suitcases, almost double Omar’s $ 1.1 million cash on hand.
The benefit of fundraising for a newcomer who challenges an entrepreneur is striking.
Melton-Meaux, who criticized Omar for the number of votes she missed, landed the conversion of the Star Tribune – the largest newspaper in Minnesota.
Melton-Meaux – who says he supports Omar’s 2018 campaign – pointed to the controversy surrounding the congresswoman as the reason why he decided to run for office. He claimed that Omar ‘had lost the trust of the Jewish community due to its insensitive and harmful tropes. ‘
AOC SAYS OMAR FACING TO PRIMARY CHALLENGE OF ‘E DAMN EFFECTIVE’
Omar has worked to repair any damage – holding regular talks with the Minneapolis Jewish community – and supporting House resolutions condemning anti-Semitism amid the shooting last year at a synagogue in Poway, California.
Omar’s campaign last month sparked an internal interview that showed her with a large bilingual lead. But former Minnesota Democratic Labor Farmer (DFL) party chairman Mike Erlandson said he thinks “the race is much closer than that. The figures shared with me from some other private interviews leave the race. within striking distance of Antone. He has a strong campaign. “
The District – formerly represented by Ellison – is one of the safest blue districts in the country, meaning the Democratic primary will be the overwhelming favorite in the November general election.
Fellow “Squad” member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also faced a well-funded Democratic primary challenger in New York State’s primary June. Former CNBC correspondent and anchor Michelle Caruso-Cabrera has raised about $ 2 million for the game. But Ocasio-Cortez dramatically beat her rival and devastated Caruso-Cabrera and other challengers in the match.
Another member of “The Squad,” Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, also faced a formidable primary challenge from former Detroit City Council president Brenda Jones. But Tlaib outraised her challenger grip and beat Jones by a two-on-one margin in last week’s primary election.
The fourth member of “The Squad” – Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who represents Massachusetts’ 7th Congress District – does not face a Democratic primary challenge in the state’s primary Sept. 1. And she may not be able to run against a Republican in the November general election because no one qualified to put her name on the primary ballot.
Showdown in Georgia
A GOP primary runoff in a congressional district in the northwest corner of Georgia is also grabbing national attention due to controversy surrounding one of the two candidates: Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Two months ago, some top House GOP leaders fired Greene, who reportedly made racist Facebook videos and embraced QAnon conspiracy theories.
Greene and neurosurgeon and business owner John Cowan – who both share their conservative references – are fighting for the Republican nomination to follow up with Rep. Tom Graves in the deep red neighborhood. The winner will be considered the overwhelming favorite in the November general election.
Founding Republicans fear that a Greene victory would be a boon to the GOP as it seeks to go along with national protests over systemic racism. And they say it would be a step backwards for a party that has long been Rep. Iowa’s Steve King saw – who had a history of making racist remarks – defeated by a Republican primary challenger in June.
Wisconsin
Four months after Wisconsin’s controversial primary election – in the face of a shortage of poll workers, long lines and little social distance as the coronavirus pandemic swept across the nation – the state is holding another round of primaries.
This time, there is not much of the partisan war that went through the April race – and this time about 170 polling stations will be open in Milwaukee. In April, just 5 polling stations were available to voters in the state’s largest city.
Connecticut
Cities and towns in Connecticut are experiencing a record-breaking rise in divergent voting requests – amid serious health concerns about personal votes at polling stations because of the coronavirus. The spike comes after the Democratic governor of the state and secretary of state expanded the suitability for absentee voters and mailed referral applications to registered voters.
Even though it is just a formality at this point, the state holds both Democratic and Republican presidential primary competitions, as well as down-ballot contests.
Vermont
Republican Gov. Phil Scott is the favorite because he faces four GOP challengers in his bid for Vermont’s third 2-year term. There are four Democrats running in the primary of their party, including current lieutenant governor David Zuckerman.
