Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) launched the first advertisement campaign of her re-election bid over the weekend with a 30-second spot that focuses on her accomplishments.
The ad, titled “The 5th,” is airing in the Minneapolis/St. Paul media market, along with new upcoming advertisements in Somali and Spanish. It’s part of her campaign’s initial six-figure investment in broadcast and cable TV and digital ads, and comes about two months before the Democratic primary on August 13 where she is the party’s endorsed candidate.
In the ad, Rep. Omar says “you are the one I fight for every day,” as it shows clips of her mingling with everyday people in parks, places of work and in the streets.
The ad emphasizes the congresswoman’s record on delivering food security, affordable housing and healthcare, and reminds viewers she is a refugee that the state welcomed and taught the value of democracy. She is the only African-born member of Congress.
The spot is the first to be aired in this election cycle by a candidate in the Fifth Congressional District. While the TV ad can be seen everywhere in the Twin Cities metro and the parts of Wisconsin that neighbor the Twin Cities metro such as Hudson, the cities in her district include Brooklyn Center, Columbia Heights, Crystal, Edina, Fridley, Golden Valley, Hilltop, Minneapolis, New Hope, Richfield, Robbinsdale, St. Anthony, St. Louis Park and Spring Lake Park.
First elected in 2018, Rep. Omar is seeking a fourth term and her main challenger in the Democratic primary is former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels. There are two other candidates in the Democratic primary, Abena McKenzie and Nate Schluter. McKenzie and Schluter do not seem to have any active campaigns going on, as they have no registered websites Mshale is aware of, or a social media presence – their official filing paperwork also had no website addresses. There will be no GOP primary as only one candidate filed to run, Ms. Dalia Al-Aqidi.
Even though Republican Ms. Al-Aqidi is in the race for the November election, and having no Republican challenger to necessitate a primary, in the overwhelmingly Democratic Fifth Congressional District, the Democratic primary on August 13 is where the race will likely be decided – as it was the last time Mr. Samuels challenged Rep. Omar for the Democratic nomination and came within two percentage points of winning.
The Omar campaign does not seem to want a repeat of a close primary. In addition to the first round of advertising, the congresswoman’s campaign has hired its largest team of organizing staff, bringing the contingent to 32. State Democratic Party chair, Mr. Ken Martin, even before this new addition of staff had credited Rep. Omar with having the most robust ground game.
The campaign in a statement said it is going to have its largest primary operations to date as “we are committed to boosting turnout and ensuring everyone gets a chance to hear from our campaign before the August 13th Primary.”
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About Tom Gitaa Gitaa, Editor-in-Chief
Born and raised in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa, Tom is the Founder, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Mshale which has been reporting on the news and culture of African immigrants in the United States since 1995. He has a BA in Business from Metro State University and a Public Leadership Credential from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He was the original host of Talking Drum, the signature current affairs show on the African Broadcasting Network (ABN-America), which was available nationwide in the United States via the Dish Network satellite service. On the show, he interviewed Nobel laureates such as 2004 Nobel Peace prize winner, Professor Wangari Maathai, the first woman from Africa to win the peace prize and heads of states. Tom has served and chaired various boards including Global Minnesota (formerly Minnesota International Center), the sixth largest World Affairs Council in the United States. He has previously served as the first Black President of the Board of Directors at Books for Africa. He also serves on the boards of New Vision Foundation and the Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium. He has previously served two terms on the board of the United Nations Association. An avid runner, he retired from running full marathons after turning 50 and now only focuses on training for half marathons.
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