Rep. Ilhan Omar's Democratic primary challenger raised more than six times the amount of money the Minnesota congresswoman did in the second quarter of 2020. That's bad news for any incumbent, but is especially embarrassing given that Omar's latest husband, Tim Mynett, is her campaign's chief fundraising consultant.
Omar, who enjoys the support of Democratic Party leaders, faces a primary challenge from lawyer Antone Melton-Meaux, who raised a whopping $3.2 million between April and June. Omar's campaign raised just $470,000 during the same period. Meanwhile, her campaign paid her husband's firm, the E Street Group, $228,000 for fundraising services. It would appear the congresswoman is not getting her money's worth.
Keith Ellison, Minnesota's controversial attorney general and an Omar supporter, accused Melton-Meaux of accepting "millions of corporate and Republican dollars." But when it comes to raising money from her own constituents, Omar is trailing her opponent by a considerable margin. She raised just $8,000 from within her congressional district, while Melton-Meaux took in $237,000. Within the state of Minnesota, Omar, who supports dismantling the Minneapolis Police Department, raised just $11,000 compared with her opponent's $323,000.
The Omar campaign's payments to Mynett's firm recently surpassed $1 million for the 2020 cycle, according to federal election records. E Street is the Omar campaign's largest vendor. The firm has been on the campaign's payroll since August 2018, during Omar's first run for office, when both Omar and Mynett were still married to other people. The pair repeatedly and indignantly denied being in a relationship before announcing they had gotten married in March after finalizing their respective divorces. The affair was first alleged in court documents filed by Mynett's former spouse.
Melton-Meaux's $2 million in cash on hand is almost double the amount that Omar's campaign reported heading into the primary on August 11. The heavily Democratic constituency in the Minneapolis district all but ensures the primary winner will sail to victory in November. Melton-Meaux has argued that Omar should be replaced in Congress because, among other things, she has "lost the trust of the Jewish community by her insensitive and harmful tropes."