Arab Republican who called for tougher Minnesota fraud probes loses bid to challenge Ilhan Omar
Chicago, IL: Dalia Al-Aqidi, an Arab American journalist who centered her campaign on government fraud and waste in Minnesota, lost her bid on Tuesday to win the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic US Rep. Ilhan Omar in the state’s 5th congressional district.
Instead, Republican John Nagel won the Republican primary with just over 52 percent of the vote — more than double the share won by Al‑Aqidi — and will face Omar in the general election on Nov. 3.
Nagel, a former Minnesota state trooper, focused his campaign on public safety, affordability, government accountability and immigration, while also criticizing Omar for what he described as a failure to address a growing fraud scandal involving Somali-run food and childcare programs that has cost federal taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
Al-Aqidi also campaigned on the cost of living, inflation and federal spending, but made government fraud and waste, especially the theft of funds from government-subsidized programs, a cornerstone of her challenge to Omar.
