Former Minneapolis City Council Member Don Samuels looks to unseat Rep. Ilhan Omar

[tritsofme]

WASHINGTON – Former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels is launching a bid to defeat U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, giving the Democrat a prominent challenge from within her own party.

In an interview with the Star Tribune, Samuels contrasted his leadership style with Omar's. He noted her support of last fall's Minneapolis ballot question that could have replaced the city's police department with a new public safety agency following the police killing of George Floyd.

The question divided some of Minnesota's leading Democrats before Minneapolis voters rejected the measure last November, with 56% voting against the change and close to 44% supporting the shift.

"Representative Omar has demonstrated she's out of touch with the residents of Minneapolis in the last election," said Samuels, 72. "And I've shown that I was very much in touch with the sentiments of the citizenry."

https://m.startribune.com/former-minneapolis-city-council-member-don-samuels-looks-to-unseat-rep-ilhan-omar/600154184/?clmob=y&c=n

Skeptical of his chances, but wish him the best of luck!

[WA-03 Democrat]

1. Wished I lived in that district!

Don would have my vote. We need equal justice but reforming rather than eliminating the police is the best path forward.

[mopinko]

2. 44% is nothing to sneeze at.

with that kind of strident language, that you got 44% shows some pretty strong sentiment if you ask me.

[Ocelot II]

3. I live in that district, and I've already sent him a donation.

Omar has worn out her welcome as far as I'm concerned. I supported her at first, but she's not good at her job. She's more interested in creating dumb controversies to get attention than she is in doing anything useful.

[mn9driver]

4. Agree.

I would like to see someone else take a shot at the job. The twin cities have a lot of problems that need attention and we could use someone who is better at horse trading than she is.

[PortTack]

5. Thx..I think I will send a donation too..her farleft democratic socialist stuff needs to go

[Cha]

10. Thank You! I've been really

impressed of what I've read about what Don Samuels has to say.

💙💛

[AZProgressive]

18. She gets more hate than most

She doesn’t do anything to deserve all the hate she gets related to her identity. That is the only thing I can think of as far as dumb controversies but she doesn’t create those.

I respect her views on Yemen and Saudi Arabia as she is on the right side on those issues. There are too many supporters of the Saudi government in the US government.

[Ocelot II]

20. She doesn't deserve that kind of treatment, obviously, but

she's not an effective legislator. She takes positions that are controversial for no apparent reason than that they're controversial, but she doesn't seem to be very interested in the issues relevant to her (my) district except for that defund the police nonsense - a position that is not popular here. MPD is a mess but we don't need defunded police, we need good police and more of them.

[AZProgressive]

21. I'm trying to find an article I didn't bookmark

But it is basically how conventional wisdom can kill a good idea but as far as defund it depends on the department but there are services that can be handled better by others than police who are tasked to do too much but other budget items are not nearly as controversial such as defunding or cutting education which is done all the time without the controversy.

The same ones that support also support reform such as ending qualified immunity which I imagine Ilhan Omar also supports.

[Ocelot II]

23. Nobody objects to reallocating funds in a way that makes policing more

effective and involves others who are better at handling people with substance abuse or mental illness. But there were, and still are, people who want to eliminate police departments altogether, and take the "defund the police" slogan literally. Omar is on record as suggesting the police department be dismantled; fortunately she doesn't have any power over local matters. She has also spoken against sending arms to Ukraine, and voted against banning
Russian oil because that would be too mean to them. I could list a lot of other gaffes, but these are enough for me.

[AZProgressive]

24. I think she mentioned the Russia people and EU citizens who rely on Russian gas

I don’t know how true that is but she mentioned people would be hurt by the ban.

[PatSeg]

29. Yes, that seems to be the main issue

She does not seem to be very good at her job. I am not sure some newer member of congress really understand what their job entails. They need to remember that they are working for their constituents first and foremost, not some personal political agenda. If she truly is not representing her constituents, it is inevitable that she will be challenged from within the party.

Being a member of congress is not the same as being a political activist.

[betsuni]

33. +1

[Me.]

6. Anyone Know Why She Voted Against Russian Oil Ban?

[Ocelot II]

7. She thought we were being mean to Russia.

https://www.newsweek.com/vote-against-russian-oil-ban-republicans-cori-bush-ilhan-omar-1686655

[PatSeg]

31. I really don't think she understands

how all of this works. She is also questioning the consequences of flooding Ukraine with billions of dollars in weapons.

Link to tweet

I understand her concern, but what does she think is the alternative? Obviously there are consequences to any action we take, so is the answer to do nothing at all and let Putin take over Ukraine?

[bottomofthehill]

8. Back to the " Look at Me" part of being a Congresswoman.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

9. This will be an interesting primary contest

[Cha]

11. Thank You for this, tritsofme..

Best of Luck to Don Samuels!

💙💛

[Me.]

12. ...

Mean to Russia indeed!

[Cha]

13. Aloha, Me💕🤞🤞😎Fucking Russia Needs to GET OUT of Ukraine..

Spare me those who feel so sorry for Russia.

💙💛

[boston bean]

14. Good. I hope she never serves another term.

[iemanja]

15. I'm in her district

I agreed with her on the police ballot measure, but that wasn't a federal issue. I disagree with many of her high profile votes. She votes with Republicans too much for my liking. I plan on voting for Samuels in the primary, though Omar is the DFL endorsed candidate from the caucuses. The caucuses, however, don't determine the primary votes, which often differ.

Why does Minnesota have both primaries and caucuses, you might ask? That's a good question that I have yet to figure out an answer to, except we are told it's for "party building."

[sheshe2]

16. He can do this.

[Me.]

25. Ironic Isn't It

as she and the other squad members talk a lot about primarying other Dems.

[sheshe2]

26. Works both ways.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

17. Lol absolute chaos.

[JustAnotherGen]

19. I like this

I think in very safe blue districts - we should always have the opportunity for new ideas.

Even if the ge candidate is the incumbent - it lets them know what constituents in the Democratic Party who didn't vote for them - are thinking. It brings new ideas to the table in D.C.

[Noodleboy13]

22. I like Don. He had a pretty good track record when he was on the Council

Been in politics/activism for years, especially noted for the helping the North Side which has long been underserved. Not really the rockstar type, he has experience and can actually get things accomplished. A modest demeanor and 'hiding one's candle under a bushel' actually go over well here in the midwest.

peace,
Noodleboy

[speak easy]

27. but 72 years old?

[Me.]

28. So Age Is The Qualifer?

she's not a senior so does that automatically make her a better candidate/rep.?

[speak easy]

30. Age is not a disqualify, obviously.

but I wonder how many representatives have been elected to their first term in Congress in their 70s

[Me.]

32. Honestly, I Don't See Your Point

[speak easy]

35. If the argument is anyone but Omar

then the question is whether Don Samuels is best placed to win the primary. I have no idea.

If the question is whether a person in their 70s with no serious legislative experience can be an effective representative in the medium term - I doubt it.

[Me.]

36. You Think A City Council Member Of Standing Has No Experience?

What experience did Omar and the others have? And again, what does age have to do with it? Can teach an old dog new tricks?

[speak easy]

38. No.

It takes years to master the conduct go the House. It also takes years to rank on committees. Look just about anyone would be better than Omar - I'm sure Don Samuels is a fine man - I wish him the best - but he has left his run late.

[former9thward]

34. The two oldest freshmen House members were both elected in the 1952 cycle.

One 78 and one 77. The younger man died 7 months later.

https://history.house.gov/HistoricalHighlight/Detail/15032400044?ret=True

[Ocelot II]

37. How many presidents have been elected at age 78?

Our current president, now 79, seems to be managing the toughest job imaginable just fine.

[speak easy]

39. ... who began his service in the Senate at age 30

[Oopsie Daisy]

40. I feel like Don Samuels will be thoughtful and competent representative *

* and that we need more elected representatives like that. I admire people who are willing to work hard to get things done and who make their decisions based on what's best for OUR country. We get more things accomplished with elected officials who understand that "all or nothing" is a losing philosophy and who are, instead, willing to find common ground; and who are willing to accept incremental progress. After all, any progress is better than no progress and better than going backward out of sheer stubbornness, or a desire to score political points, right? I think he's also smart enough to know that it's important to be loyal to the Democratic party and not to take cheap shots at Democratic leadership, nor sabotage the Biden agenda, for the sake of personal gain, or headlines and notoriety. Not only is it important to be in-touch with the citizens one represents, it's also important for our elected representatives to be in touch with reality.