Five candidates are running in the Democratic primary for Minnesota's 5th Congressional District on Aug. 11, which includes Minneapolis and its surrounding areas. This primary will be the first since Operation Metro Surge, the federal immigration enforcement effort in Minnesota between December 2025 and February 2026.
Three of those candidates lead in media attention: incumbent Rep. Ilhan Omar (D), Julie Le (D), and Latonya Reeves (D). All three have also completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.
While the candidates wrote about multiple topics, the starkest difference in their responses was on immigration between Omar and Le. Omar, who is the Deputy Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, supported abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Le, an attorney and former federal prosecutor who was an Assistant Chief Counsel at Homeland Security and a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney during Operation Metro Surge, wrote that she supports reforming the immigration system.
