Primary day is looming in Minnesota. Here are the key races to keep an eye on.

MINNEAPOLIS — Lost in the overwhelming developments in the presidential race, including the ascension of Gov. Tim Walz to a vice presidential nominee, is the looming Aug. 13 primary. 

It’s an open secret that both the DFL and Republican state parties aren’t fans of the August primary because it’s a time when most voters are focusing on vacations, planning a Minnesota State Fair trip or even starting to think about getting back to school. In 2022, voter turnout was less than 30% statewide. 

Some key primaries include a rematch in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District between Rep. Ilhan Omar and former Minneapolis City Council Member Don Samuels. In 2022, Omar almost lost that race to Samuels. 

Omar says that last time she underestimated Samuels and she is not doing that this year.

“It’s a huge difference. Ilhan Omar has got a following. She’s got an organization that she’s been building over the last half dozen years or more, and it wasn’t really mobilized two years ago. Now, she is a presence in the district. She’s working hard, and Don Samuels has been unable to really match or exceed that,” said Professor Larry Jacobs with the University of Minnesota.

There is an unusual race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate between Royce White and Joe Fraser. The winner will take on Sen. Amy Klobuchar in November.

In June, Republicans nominated White, a former Gopher and NBA basketball player who still plays in a professional three-on-three league. White has a controversial past and has seen major pushback from former Sens. Rudy Boschwitz and Norm Coleman as well as former Gov. Tim Pawlenty. All three signed a letter endorsing the challenger Fraser.

Democratic strategist Abou Amara says this shows a divide in the Republican party.

“At the grassroots level, you’ve got Royce White, who’s endorsed by Steve Bannon and other kind of far extreme right-wing folks, but he won the endorsement. I think Joe Fraser represents kind of the Tim Pawlenty lane, if you will, of the Minnesota Republican Party. And so they’re on a collision course,” said Amara. “I do think Royce White presents deeper problems for the Republican ticket, whether it be the state house or the congressional seats because some of the things he said have been really out there, extreme stuff that I think the vast majority of Minnesotans would reject.”

Meanwhile, in the 7th Congressional District, Rep. Michelle Fischbach faces challenges from the right in Steve Boyd.

Endorsed by former President Donald Trump,  Fischbach faces criticism for her lack of presence in her congressional district.

“When your district starts to feel that you are not paying attention, it can, it can be problematic. I mean, we saw that Michelle Bachman had a very high national profile and was seen as too much, right? I think that that haunted Ilhan Omar in the last primary, where Don Samuels got very close because the district was feeling that Ilhan was not paying attention and mining business at home,” said Amy Koch, a Republican analyst.

Meanwhile, eyes will be on Minnesota’s closest congressional race with incumbent Rep. Angie Craig and the primary for her Republican challenger.  It’s an odd situation. While GOP-endorsed candidate Tayler Rahm has dropped out of the race, some Republicans are urging voters to still cast their ballots for him instead of the better-funded Joe Teirab.