Don Samuels, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar's Democrat challenger, said the 'Squad' member is 'not cute enough' to ignore voters, prompting blowback from the contentious lawmaker.
Samuels, who nearly defeated Omar during the 2022 Democratic primary, made the comments during a Nov. 21 appearance on "The Break Down with Brodkorb and Becky" podcast while speaking on how Omar is not "responsive" to her constituents.
"And so to see government not be responsive like that to the people who pay them, it is offensive to me," Samuels said on the podcast. "And to not be responsive and available to those people? To meet with them and find out what their concerns are and to answer their tough questions? To not get back to people on the phone? Who do you think you are? And 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' comments provoked Omar to react on social media, where she said his remarks were "beneath the dignity of any adult" and sexist.
"This is beneath the dignity of any adult, let alone someone seeking public office," Omar wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "It is reminiscent of the worst kinds of lies and misogyny that we are hearing from people like Donald Trump, who think they can say anything about women and get away with it."
"Like Trump, instead of engaging in an adult debate, [Don Samuels] relies on lies and sexism," she added. "We need civility now more than ever and Don's behavior should be alarming to anyone who agrees."
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Samuels, a former Minneapolis City Council member, is again challenging Omar during the 2024 elections after narrowly losing to her in the 2022 Democratic primary.
During the previous campaign, Samuels ran as a pro-police candidate and hammered the "Squad" member over her anti-law enforcement views.
Samuels lost to Omar by just 2,500 votes in the 2022 Democratic primary after she convincingly won her 2020 primary by 35,000 votes.
