Nancy Pelosi seems to have endorsed Ilhan Omar by funneling around $14,000 to the freshman lawmaker amid an expensive primary fight for her.
According to The Washington Free Beacon:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) funneled $14,000 to Rep. Ilhan Omar’s campaign in late July as the Minnesota Democrat struggled to fend off a well-funded primary challenge.
Federal Election Commission records released Thursday show that Pelosi transferred $10,000 from her PAC and an additional $4,000 from her campaign committee to Omar on July 22, one week after Pelosi endorsed Omar in her reelection bid.
The Minnesota Democrat is facing an expensive primary battle against attorney Antone Melton-Meaux, who outraised Omar significantly in the second quarter of 2020. Melton-Meaux raked in $3.3 million between April and June to Omar’s $470,000. Included in the challenger’s donor list is Democratic Colorado governor Jared Polis, who gave $1,000 to Melton-Meaux’s campaign on July 27.
The impressive fundraising haul allowed Melton-Meaux to spend more than $1.7 million over the first three weeks of July. Omar, meanwhile, spent just $784,000. More than $600,000—77 percent of those disbursements—went to a D.C.-based consulting firm run by Omar’s new husband.
A telling sign is the fundraising from the 5th District’s constituents. Melton-Meaux raised $273,000 while Omar only raised $8,000.