Living in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, it has become impossible to miss the advertising blitz for Ilhan Omar’s Democratic primary opponent, Antone Melton-Meaux. The last couple of weeks, there have been constant, multiple TV ads in a fairly expensive Twin Cities TV market. In addition, we have been receiving frequent mailings, from flyers to multi-page brochures touting Melton-Meaux.
Before the TV ads started appearing, I had never heard of Melton-Meaux. He has not held elective office. According to his bio, he is a lawyer with his own mediation practice, who formerly worked in Human Resources at St. Jude Medical when Representative Angie Craig was senior VP of HR. As a law student at Virginia, he was a Congressional Black Caucus Fellow, working for Donna Brazile and Eleanor Norton. After law school, he joined Skadden Arps, doing pro bono work for inmates seeking gender transition and for people denied fair housing. He is a volunteer minister at a progressive church in Minneapolis.
He opposes BDS (the Boycott, Divestments, Sanctions movement to end support for Israel’s treatment of Palestinians). Because of that, he has drawn support from conservative pro-Israel group NORPAC and Pro-Israel America PAC. and individuals supporting the current Israeli government. Between that support and the support of people nationwide hoping to defeat Omar, he raised $3.2 million in the second quarter compared to Omar’s $472,000 and had $2 million cash on hand compared to Omar’s $1.1 million.
Melton-Meaux’s supporters include Iris and Shalom Maidenbaum, two prominent Trump supporters from Long Island; and Howard Jonas, a telecommunications executive who has maxed out a contribution to Trump.
Melton-Meaux also has the backing of prominent wealthy donors from around the country, including John Gray, a billionaire and the president and COO of the private equity firm Blackstone, and Seth Klarman, a billionaire hedge fund owner who has given millions to the Republican Party.
MinnPost reported:
One of NORPAC’s invitations for a virtual fundraiser reads: “Together, we have the privilege of accomplishing a dual objective. Supporting a deserving candidate, Antone Melton-Meaux, who has communicated a genuine desire to strengthen the US-Israel relationship and bring honor to his country and party while at the same time replacing Rep Ilhan Omar, a highly divisive member of Congress who has proven to be unfairly and repeatedly critical of Israel.”
A mailing in support of Melton-Meaux was paid for by “Americans for Tomorrows Future”, a super PAC described by OpenSecrets as Republican/Conservative whose listed donors include supporters of AIPAC. Americans for Tomorrows Future donated money through another super PAC to help Rep. Eliot Engel in his New York primary against Jamaal Bowman.
Melton-Meaux has described himself as a uniter as opposed to a divider and has pointed out statements by Omar.
“I’ve been sorely saddened and disappointed by the words and the rhetoric of Congresswoman Omar,” Melton-Meaux said in a Zoom interview. “Her tropes, which have been well-documented now, were hurtful to the Jewish community and I know this because I’ve spoken with them.
In 2018, Omar won her Democratic primary with 48% of the vote over former state House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher with 30% and State Senator Patricia Torres Ray with 13%. The winner of the Democratic primary will win the general election; Omar won the general election in 2018 with 78% of the vote. The seat has been in Democratic hands since 1963 and the district is rated D+26.