Omar bests Melton-Meaux in race for Congress
Newcomer Esther Agbaje unseats Raymond Dehn in 59B race
By Harry Colbert, Jr., Editor-in-Chief
Barring maybe the biggest upset in Minnesota history, Rep. Ilhan Omar is headed back to Congress to serve a second term.
Rep. Ilhan Omar official photo
That is because Omar (DFL-5) outpaced her primary opponent Antone Melton-Meaux by nearly 30,000 votes in Tuesday’s Aug. 11 election. A highly publicized race that saw each candidate raising more than $4 million, Omar’s perceived negatives did not dissuade the majority of voters, who two years ago made history by sending the first Somali-American to Congress. Seemingly a victim of her celebrity – Omar was a national media sensation and graced the cover of TIME – she was branded by her detractors as being divisive too concerned with Middle East issues rather than those of her district. But it was her supporters who won out, bringing home their message that Omar is a transformative leader who has been responsive to her constituents – particularly following the unrest following the killing of George Floyd.
“In Minnesota, we know that organized people will always beat organized money,” said Omar on her Twitter page. “Tonight, our movement didn’t just win. We earned a mandate for change. Despite outside efforts to defeat us, we once again broke turnout records. Despite the attacks, our support has only grown.”
Along with money from progressive and grassroots supporters, several groups with GOP ties and pro-Israel ties helped to fund the Melton-Meaux campaign.
Omar will now face-off in November against Republican Lacy Johnson. Though the district is heavily Democratic, it should be noted that Johnson raised more than $4.2 million in his primary bid and so far has about $120,000 more cash on hand than Omar going into the Nov. 3 election.
Esther Agbaje
In District 59B DFL-endorsed challenger Esther Agbaje bested incumbent Rep. Raymond Dehn by nearly 500 votes in their race for the state House. The 3,808 to 3,364 vote gave Agbaje the win by a 47 to 41 percent margin.
Sen. Bobby Joe Champion easily defeated his challenger, Suleiman Isse, with 77 percent of the vote in the Dist. 59 Senate race.
Kim Ellison led the way in a crowded five-person field in the race for the at large seat on the Minneapolis Public Schools board. Ellison garnered more than 53,000 votes with challenger coming in second Michael Dueñes, earning just under 22,000 votes. Both will advance once face off in the November general election.