Voters in Minnesota and Georgia showed Tuesday they’re not scared off by controversy, as Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar and GOP candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene, both known for making eyebrow-raising comments, won their congressional primaries.
Here’s a look at some of the day’s more notable races:
Minnesota
Omar survived a challenge from well-funded hopeful Antone Melton-Meaux in the Democratic primary in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District.
Since taking office in 2018, Omar has come under fire for comments viewed by many as anti-Semitic. Among her remarks, she said Israel has “hypnotized the world," and she questioned the allegiance of U.S. lawmakers who are supportive of Israel. As a result, Melton-Meaux received the support of pro-Israel donors and other outside groups, and he outspent Omar on TV ads by a more than two-to-one margin.
But with Tuesday’s victory, Omar, a member of the House’s “Squad” of four women of color who won congressional seats two years ago, proved her outspoken style on progressive issues has given her a legion of devoted followers. As of Wednesday morning, Omar led Melton-Meax 57.4% to 39.2%.
“Tonight, our movement didn’t just win. We earned a mandate for change,” Omar said in a statement. “Despite outside efforts to defeat us, we once again broke turnout records. Despite the attacks, our support has only grown since 2018.”
Omar will face Republican Lacy Johnson in the general election, but the Democratic incumbent is expected to ultimately win re-election in the deep blue district, which includes all of Minneapolis.
Georgia
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Two months after Rep. Steve King of Iowa lost his primary, the Republicans are on the verge of having a new controversial member in the House.
Businesswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has appeared in videos making racist, Islamaphobic and anti-Semitic comments and embraces the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory, defeated neurosurgeon John Cowan in the GOP primary runoff in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District. As of Wednesday morning, Greene held a 57.2% to 42.8% advantage.
Greene is expected to defeat Democrat Kevin Van Ausdal in the bright red district in the general election.
In videos that surfaced after June’s initial primary, Greene says Black people “are held slaves to the Democratic Party,” the U.S. government is experiencing an “Islamic invasion,” and George Soros, a Democratic megadonor who is Jewish, turned Jews over to the Nazis, a conspiracy theory that has been proven false. That led to fear among some Republicans that Greene’s election could bring embarrassment to the party.
“The Republican establishment was against me,” Greene told her reporters Tuesday night. “The D.C. swamp is against me. And the lying fake news media hates my guts. It’s a badge of honor. It’s not about me winning. This is a referendum on every single one of us, on our beliefs.”
In her victory speech, Greene quickly took aim at Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“She’s a hypocrite. She’s anti-American,” Greene said. “And we’re going to kick that bitch out of Congress.”
Other Races
• Derrick Van Orden, a Navy SEAL-turned-actor, won the Republican primary in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District. He will face 12-term Democratic incumbent Ron Kind, who won cruised to victory in his primary Tuesday, in the general election. Kind is trying to win re-election in a district that Trump carried four years ago after voting for the president’s impeachment.
• In Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District, Republicans picked former Lt. Gov. Michelle Fischbach as their candidate for a seat held by a Democrat but viewed as vulnerable. Collin Peterson was elected in 2018 to represent the district, which voted for Trump by a wider margin than any other represented by a Democrat.