On “Forbes Newsroom,” Don Samuels, a former Democratic Minneapolis City Council member, spoke about his primary challenge to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar in 2024.
Samuels, who took on Omar in the 2022 primary, spoke about the lessons he learned in the last cycle, in which he lost by less than 2,500 votes.
“I learned that I need to start earlier,” he tells Forbes, while noting that has kept much of the same campaign staff. “I’m inspired with the confidence of knowing that I have the group that took us so close – and with a couple more weeks, we could’ve won. So, we have that time in place.”
Samuels recently went viral in his delivery of criticism about Omar. During an appearance on the podcast "The Break Down with Brodkorb and Becky" last month, Samuels seemingly swiped at his opponent's appearance.
“To see government not be responsive like that to the people who pay them – it is offensive to me… Who do you think you're working for? You're not cute enough, you don't dress well enough. Nothing about you is attractive enough to overcome that deficit," Samuels said.
Omar responded to his comments on X, formerly known as Twitter, by accusing Samuels of sexism. To those charges, Samuels claimed his comments weren’t about Omar but “absolutely” aimed at a collective “you,” meaning the government at large.
Omar’s objections to his comments also led her to compare him to former President Donald Trump. Samuels told Forbes that Omar, rather, is more a more apt comparison to the 45th president. “Congresswoman Omar resembles President Trump much more than I do. They are both divisive, they both pick a side, and [they] consider part of the American people to be their enemy.”
Samuels says that he, unlike Omar, is a more “moderate” Democrat who is still “progressive on the issues.”
If elected, he vows to “meet with every member of Congress for half an hour” in order to foster relationships with Democrats and Republicans alike. “I’m going to get to know my opponents … so that when we argue, we’re not arguing for individual interests, us against them, we’re arguing for the best solution.”
Watch the full conversation above.
