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Election 2024
Clay Masters

Sanders urges DFLers to support Omar in upcoming primary

a man and a woman at a podium
Independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont holds a get-out-the-vote rally for U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. at Thomas Edison High School in Minneapolis on Saturday ahead of her Aug. 13 primary against former Minneapolis City Councilman Don Samuels.
Clay Masters | MPR News

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With a primary election less than two weeks away, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders held a get-out-the-vote rally in Minneapolis for Rep. Ilhan Omar on Saturday. Just like in 2022, Omar is facing a challenge from former Minneapolis City Councilman Don Samuels.

Omar took the stage to chants of “Ilhan!” at Edison High School, her alma mater, to a big crowd of supporters and introduced the two-time presidential candidate who won Minnesota’s Democratic caucus in 2016. Sanders told the crowd they need to send Omar back to Congress.

“She is not only somebody who has and will take on enormously powerful special interests, but she is one of the toughest people that I know,” he said.

Sanders then told a story about meeting with Omar soon after she was elected to Congress in 2018 following what he called “vicious and disgusting” comments made about her by then-President Donald Trump. Sanders remembered Omar brushing the comments off and saying, “I’ve gotten this my whole life.”

people cheer and hold signs
Supporters of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar applaud her as she walks onto the auditorium stage of her alma mater Thomas Edison High School in Minneapolis on Saturday.
Clay Masters | MPR News

Omar criticized Samuels in her remarks for taking donations from Republican donors when he unsuccessfully ran for mayor.

“That is not the values of our neighbors and that’s not the values I carry,” Omar said. “So, on Aug. 13, this is our chance to choose hope and reject a trojan horse for Republican values.”

Samuels lost the primary to Omar in 2022 by just two percentage points in the Democratic stronghold of a congressional district.

Samuels issued a statement ahead of the rally saying in part that Omar called in national support because she “knows this race is close” and voters have an “opportunity to choose leadership focused on the people, not their own agenda.”

Omar and Sanders were also joined by Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) who has also endorsed Omar in the race.

a woman speaks at a podium
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., reacts to applause from supporters at a rally at her alma mater Thomas Edison High School in Minneapolis on Saturday.
Clay Masters | MPR News