Ilhan Omar won her primary after fellow ‘Squad’ members Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman lost. Here’s why.

WASHINGTON – Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., beat back a primary challenger Tuesday in a closely watched race after two of her progressive colleagues lost their own primary bids earlier this year in the face of massive spending from pro-Israel groups.

The Minnesota lawmaker’s victory came after Reps. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., and Cori Bush, D-Mo., all members of the informal group of House lawmakers known as the “Squad,” were booted by more moderate Democrats. Each have been vocal critics of Israel’s actions in Gaza as the Israel-Hamas war rages on, but Omar still entered Tuesday’s race on firmer footing than her fellow lawmakers.

One major factor: United Democracy Project, a super PAC with close ties to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, invested almost $24 million against Bush and Bowman, helping make them the only House Democrats to lose their 2024 primary elections so far.

Israel and the war in Gaza has defined race after race this year as the Democratic Party splits over how to address the conflict. The war has created a rift on the left, as Congress’ progressive members push the Biden administration and other Democratic leaders to come out more forcefully against the bombing campaign in the Gaza strip.

Omar has long voiced concerns over Israel’s policy, being one of the first lawmakers to publicly call for a cease-fire. She also faced significant backlash in April after she suggested while visiting protesters on Columbia University’s campus that some Jewish students supported “genocide.”

But the United Democracy Project didn’t invest in Omar’s race, a shift from her 2022 primary bid.

Back then, former Minneapolis City Council Member Don Samuels, who Omar again faced on Tuesday, lost by just over 2,400 votes. The United Democracy Project spent $350,000 in the days leading up to that election to boost Samuels.

But this year, Omar was on significantly different ground. Police reform dominated her last reelection in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in her home state. Omar was one of the most outspoken lawmakers and didn’t shy away from calling for police reform.

That debate has largely fallen to the wayside this election cycle though, and Omar enjoyed a significant fundraising advantage over Samuels. She also ran a much more active campaign this time around.

“In the last primary, it wasn’t close because we don’t have the support of the people that we represent,” Omar said last week at a rally in Minneapolis. “It was close because we did not remind every single person that there was a primary and they needed to get out and vote.”

But it wasn’t just debates over the Israel-Hamas war that set Omar’s election apart from her fellow “Squad” members this year. She also didn’t have the political baggage that came with Bowman and Bush. While the ousted pair’s vocal criticisms of Israel garnered nationwide attention, they each had their own scandals that dogged their campaigns.

Bowman infamously pulled a fire alarm in the Capitol complex last year during a high-stakes vote to avert a government shutdown. During the vote, Bowman could be seen on security camera footage removing warning signs for a door alarm and then proceeding to pull the alarm.

The New York Democrat claimed it was a mistake and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for “willfully” or knowingly” triggering the alarm. The Republican-controlled House (on a mostly party-line vote) censured him after the incident. 

Bush is currently under federal investigation over using her campaign funds for security services.  She said she hired her husband as part of her security detail in the face of threats to her personal safety since becoming a lawmaker, but she has maintained she has not used federal funds for her own security. 

The combination of Bowman and Bush’s scandals paired with millions of dollars from pro-Israel groups made their primary contests among the fiercest in the country. United Democracy Project spent $14.5 million against Bowman leading up to his election, which became the most expensive House primary in history. The group also invested over $9 million in Bush’s race. 

The two laid blame at AIPAC for their losses and called out the staggering sums of campaign spending against them in their concession speeches.

“We should be outraged when a super PAC of dark money can spend $20 million to brainwash people into believing something that isn’t true,” Bowman said in June right after he was projected to lose his primary.

Bush was much more upfront in her speech, telling her supporters earlier in August after she lost her race: “AIPAC, I’m coming to tear your kingdom down.”