Now that I have made my decision about who will get my vote for the Senate in the Primary, let’s take a look at the US House of Representatives. I live in the Minnesota 5th Congressional District, which has 9 people running across 3 parties. Like for senator, only one person can get my vote, so I will have to narrow it down.
First, no republicans. That eliminates 3 candidates. Second, no third party candidates. That eliminates 1 more candidate. Still, 5 candidates to research! In alphabetical order, they are:
Representative Ilhan Omar (incumbent)
Les Lester
Les Lester is a journalist, author, teacher, and community organizer [1][5][6], who was the former communications chair for the local NAACP [1][5]. The issues that he talks about are very much in line with my own; what especially stuck out to me is that he is for Universal Healthcare, Universal Basic Income, and the Green New Deal. He has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, but has not filled out Vote Smart’s political courage test. Still, I’m liking what I am seeing so far.
John Mason
I am liking what I am reading about John Mason so far - his platform issues are all good,and he has filled out his Candidate Connection survey on Ballotpedia (but not the political courage test from Vote Smart). He also “wants to build on President Barack Obama's accomplishments in health care care, education, gun control and the environment” [8], which I wholly support. His website states that he worked on voter registration and turnout for the Obama for America campaign, as well as advanced Organizational Effectiveness initiatives in university administrations.
Daniel Patrick McCarthy
Is this a joke campaign? Pass.
Antone Melton-Meaux
Antone Melton-Meaux is the only person to send me a flyer so far. Though his campaign flyer is a typical one, it did remind me that there is the August 11th primary (which had slipped my mind, what with everything else going on). His platform includes the most comprehensive groundwork for systemic transformation in public safety that I’ve seen out of any of the candidates so far (and that includes the candidates for senator). He also includes a link to request a mail-in ballot on his site (which we all should be doing during this pandemic).
The issues that he talks about are very robust. Not only the public safety, but also health care, higher education, and a host of other issues that I support. He could be a wonderful choice for representative. We do need strong progressives in the house.
What concerns me, though, is the Republican funding that he has received [7][9]. Are they donating to him because they are hoping to unseat Representative Omar, and they believe that he is the best candidate to do so? And why is he accepting these donations? On the other hand, he also has some solid endorsements [9], but he calls himself a “pragmatic” or “practical” progressive [4][7] and his stance may actually be more moderate [9] than I am hoping for.
Representative Ilhan Omar
Representative Ilhan Omar is the incumbent U.S. Representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district. Not only does she also include a link to request a mail-in ballot on her site (which we all should be doing during this pandemic), but she also includes information on how to vote in each county she represents.Omar is a prominent member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, has solid endorsements [7][9], and has made strong actions [7] for key issues that I strongly believe in.
Omar has been the subject of several death threats, conspiracy theories, and other harassment by political opponents [2][3]. Despite this, she continues to fight for what we elected her to fight for. And she has done a fantastic job of it.
Who Will I Vote For?
After careful consideration, I’m going to vote to re-elect Representative Ilhan Omar. Her policies are more progressive than those that Antone Melton-Meaux has put forward, she has been consistent in her actions, and the evidence points to her to continue to work towards a better tomorrow. John Mason’s ideas are good, but are too milktoast; Les Lester is decent, but I can’t find out much more about him; and Daniel Patrick McCarthy isn’t even a consideration. Representative Omar has convinced me that she’s the one to vote for.
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