(The Center Square) – Minnesota’s primary election is on Tuesday, and there are several key races to watch.
Rep. Ilhan Omar is facing a rematch against former Minneapolis City Councilman Don Samuels, whom she lost by 2.1 percentage points in the 2022 primary.
Republicans, meanwhile, are focused on choosing a candidate to challenge incumbent Senator Amy Klobuchar.
Omar became the first Somali-American elected to Congress in 2018, and is the first Muslim-American woman elected to Congress, along with Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
She defeated Samuels in 2022, but with progressive “Squad” members Cori Bush of St. Louis and Jamaal Bowman of New York already losing their primary races, their rematch is expected to be one of the most closely watched nationally in this year’s primary elections.
In Minnesota’s primary elections, voters can choose to vote on either the Democratic or Republican ballot.
Conservatives in Minnesota took to social media last week to urge voters to vote Democrat in an effort to overturn the results of the primary.
Republican primary candidate and former NBA player Royce White also encouraged the plan.
“I am willing to give up 5,000 votes in the 5th District Primary to help me achieve this goal. Everywhere else in the state, please vote for Lois White for U.S. Senate,” White wrote to X. “If you vote Democrat, you can only vote Democrat in the primary, but that’s OK. See you in the general election.”
White is the leading Republican candidate trying to defeat Democrat Klobuchar.
She is expected to win the Democratic nomination, but White received the endorsement of the state Republican Party earlier this year.
White’s other prominent supporters include Steve Bannon, Trump’s former White House chief strategist, who is serving a four-month prison sentence for contempt.
Klobuchar has served as a U.S. Senator since 2007. She was re-elected in 2018 with 60.3% of the vote.
