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Analysis Shows Ilhan Omar Had the Biggest 'Underperformance by Any House Incumbent in the Country'

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Rep. Ilhan Omar had the “biggest underperformance” in her own congressional district, underperforming presumptive President-elect Joe Biden by 16 percentage points, according to an analysis by Cook Political Report.

Editor Dave Wasserman tweeted his findings on the Minnesota Democrat’s performance Tuesday and Wednesday.

“The biggest top-of-ticket underperformance by any House incumbent in the country? Rep. Ilhan Omar (D),” Wasserman wrote.

In Minnesota’s 5th congressional district, Biden received 328,764 votes, President Donald Trump received 72,323 votes, Omar received 255,920 votes and her Republican challenger Lacy Johnson received 102,878 votes.

“In fact, I’m not aware of anywhere near this severe an underperformance for any other House *candidate* in the county, let alone an incumbent,” Wasserman added.

Omar also underperformed in 2018 when she beat Republican candidate Jennifer Zielinski 78 percent to 21.7 percent of the votes, according to Ballotpedia.

Although Biden is presumed to have won the White House pending legal challenges from President Donald Trump, the election brought the Democratic Party mostly disappointing results, The Washington Examiner reported.

Do you think Democrats will lose the majority in the House in the next election?

Projections from FiveThirtyEight showed Democrats would add as many as 22 seats to their majority.

Instead, Republicans gained seats and Democrats ended up with the slimmest House majority since World War II.

Some Democrats blamed the far-left wing of the party, including Omar’s fellow “Squad” members Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, for the crushing defeats across the country.

“We need to not ever use the word ‘socialist’ or ‘socialism’ ever again. … We lost good members because of that,” Democratic Virginia Rep. Abigail Spanberger said during a conference call following the election, The Washington Post reported.

“If we are classifying Tuesday as a success … we will get f—ing torn apart in 2022.”

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Omar defended herself and other progressive Democrats two weeks later, saying that the Democratic Party is one “big family.”

“We all have our own constituencies that we have to serve. We are part of a caucus working on behalf of the people. We think of ourselves as the party of the people.” Omar said, according to Fox News.

“There was a movement that happened this summer, and it delivered this victory, the rise of the amount of people that registered to vote.

“We owe to the movement to make sure that the chaos that they voted against does not follow us to our caucus. And to make sure that the justice that they seek is implemented in the policies that we advocate for.”

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Erin Coates was an editor for The Western Journal for over two years before becoming a news writer. A University of Oregon graduate, Erin has conducted research in data journalism and contributed to various publications as a writer and editor.
Erin Coates was an editor for The Western Journal for over two years before becoming a news writer. She grew up in San Diego, California, proceeding to attend the University of Oregon and graduate with honors holding a degree in journalism. During her time in Oregon, Erin was an associate editor for Ethos Magazine and a freelance writer for Eugene Magazine. She has conducted research in data journalism, which has been published in the book “Data Journalism: Past, Present and Future.” Erin is an avid runner with a heart for encouraging young girls and has served as a coach for the organization Girls on the Run. As a writer and editor, Erin strives to promote social dialogue and tell the story of those around her.
Birthplace
Tucson, Arizona
Nationality
American
Honors/Awards
Graduated with Honors
Education
Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, University of Oregon
Books Written
Contributor for Data Journalism: Past, Present and Future
Location
Prescott, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English, French
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Health, Entertainment, Faith




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