Watch CBS News

'Good Luck Lacy!': Trump Tweets Endorsement Of Ilhan Omar Challenger

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- President Donald Trump tweeted his endorsement Monday of a Republican candidate challenging Rep. Ilhan Omar for her seat in Congress.

The president voiced his support for businessman Lacy Johnson, saying that he's doing a "great job" in his campaign for the heavily-Democratic 5th District, which encompasses Minneapolis and some of its closest suburbs.

As part of his endorsement, Trump retweeted a campaign post from Johnson.

"I will win the primary and look forward to defeating Ilhan in Nov. 2020," Johnson's campaign post said.

Omar, a vocal critic of the president, has been a frequent target of Trump's twitter attacks.

Indeed, in his endorsement of Johnson, Trump called the congresswoman a "disaster" and accused her of hating veterans.

Omar was elected to Congress in 2018, winning the district in a landslide with nearly 80% of the vote. She was the first Somali-American elected to Congress.

Last week, Johnson won the district GOP's endorsement, claiming more than 90% of the vote, his campaign said. Johnson describes himself as an entrepreneur who has lived in north Minneapolis for 40 years.

The 5th District hasn't been represented by a Republican since the 1960s.

View CBS News In
CBS News App
Chrome Safari
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.