Here's why I'm challenging Rep. Ilhan Omar in the DFL primary - Antone Melton-Meaux [View all]

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In 2018, I was excited to vote for Rep. Ilhan Omar. Like so many in Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District, I considered it a point of pride to continue our tradition of electing barrier-breaking representatives. I looked forward to Omar using her position to be an effective, prominent leader. I had such high hopes. What a difference 15 months make. My pride is dashed. My hopes have become frustration, anger and despair, knowing that our district is disenfranchised, and for all intents and purposes, not represented. I’m left to wonder: Who does Ilhan Omar work for? Because I just can’t see how she’s working for me or any of us.

Rep. Omar has the seventh-worst attendance record for missed votes among first-term representatives. From October to December last year, she missed more votes than 94% of Congress. That doesn’t work for us. Rep. Omar has ignored much of her district, with numerous mayors and City Council members reporting they haven’t seen or heard from her since she took office. Meanwhile, she spent numerous weekends fundraising for her campaign in other states. And, she’s been to Africa three times, with one trip lasting over a week. That doesn’t work for us. Omar refuses to talk to local media or host regular, open public meetings that any of her constituents can attend. That doesn’t work for us.

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Omar failed to condemn Armenian genocide when the overwhelming majority of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, voted to hold Turkey accountable for its atrocities. That doesn’t work for us. Omar joined Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., in publicly insulting our party’s first female presidential nominee when she booed Hillary Clinton at an event in Iowa in January. That doesn’t work for us. Omar voted against every other Minnesota Democrat on key trade bills that expand protections for workers and the environment because she says she only votes for perfect bills. That doesn’t work for us.

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Rep. Omar’s campaign has raised more than $2 million dollars, but less than $100,000 of her itemized contributions come from people in her district. That means more than 95% of her financial support comes from somewhere else. Omar failed to find time to even visit all of her district, yet she found time to write an autobiography and travel around the country for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign. She appears to be more focused on her own celebrity than on serving the district. That doesn’t work for us.

Omar complained that Sanders would have won our presidential primary if we still had the caucus system, arguing that fewer Minnesota voters would have been better for Bernie. Wanting fewer people to participate and be counted instead of more — that doesn’t work for us.

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https://www.startribune.com/here-s-why-i-m-challenging-rep-ilhan-omar-in-the-dfl-primary/569421622/