MINNEAPOLIS, MN: Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., officially has a Republican challenger who is making the case that Minnesota voters are "fed up" with fraud and dysfunction and are ready for a change as he looks to unseat Omar in one of the country's most closely watched progressive strongholds.
John Nagel, a Minnesota native who spent 30 years as a state trooper, told Fox News Digital in an interview that he believes his background gives him a unique opportunity to make the case against Omar in Minnesota's deep-blue 5th Congressional District.
"I think the people of Minnesota have been lied to. They've had their money stolen. They want to see somebody that's going to come in and fix things," Nagel said. "They're tired of being told the same old things."
Nagel argued that his roots in the state and decades in law enforcement separate him from the political class.
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"I'm from Minnesota, born and raised here. I'm not a Washington plant," Nagel said, pointing to his three decades as a state trooper and his work teaching defensive driving and working in schools across the area.
Nagel, who won the Republican primary in Minnesota's 5th District last week, said his campaign will focus heavily on the fraud scandals that have rocked Minnesota in recent years, drawing a sharp contrast with Omar and Democrats in the state.
"I'm pro-American. I'm from Minnesota. I love Minnesota and I love my country," Nagel said when asked about the contrast he plans to draw with Omar.
"I'm not involved in fraud," he added, before arguing that Omar's district has been at the center of the state's fraud problems and Fox News Digital has extensively reported on Omar’s ties to those implicated in the scandal.
Omar’s former campaign staffer Guhaad Hashi Said pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering after prosecutors said a fraudulent food site he established received nearly $3 million in reimbursements while serving only a fraction of the more than 1 million meals it claimed.
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Omar also promoted Safari Restaurant as a meal distribution site during the pandemic, praising the Minneapolis establishment in a 2020 Somali-language video. Safari co-owner Salim Said was later convicted in the Feeding Our Future scheme, with prosecutors alleging the site received more than $16 million in fraudulent child nutrition funds. Safari had also hosted Omar's 2018 election-night watch party.
Omar additionally introduced the MEALS Act in 2020, which sought to expand waivers for federal school meal programs during the pandemic. Provisions similar to the legislation were ultimately enacted as part of broader bipartisan COVID relief, and Omar later pushed the Trump administration to extend pandemic-era meal waivers. Republican Minnesota lawmakers have argued those changes removed safeguards and helped create conditions exploited by Feeding Our Future fraudsters.
Omar has rejected that characterization, telling Fox News Digital earlier this year that any suggestion she knew about the fraud scheme is "flat-out false."
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Nagel also accused Minnesota Democrats of failing to adequately combat fraud and argued voters in both parties are looking for leaders willing to crack down on abuse of taxpayer dollars.
"I have not met a Democrat yet that has come out and said, yeah, we really want to do something about fraud," Nagel said. "It's been just the opposite."
Nagel also suggested he sees an opening with voters who may not traditionally support Republicans, including members of Minnesota's Somali community who have grown dissatisfied with Omar.
He specifically pointed to Somalilanders in the district, claiming some former Omar voters are "coming out of the woodwork" and turning against the congresswoman and saying he is willing to work with members of the community who share his vision for the state.
"I'm here to serve everybody in Minnesota," Nagel explained. "I don't care what faith you are, I don't care what color you are. When you go to Congress, you're supposed to be taking care of everybody from Minnesota, and she doesn't do that."
Nagel, who described himself as a "just a normal guy that wants to make things better" without "big bucks backing me" will face an uphill battle in the district which includes all of Minneapolis, from downtown and the university area to North, Northeast and Southwest Minneapolis, but also inner-ring suburbs including Richfield, St. Louis Park, Golden Valley, Robbinsdale, Crystal, New Hope, Brooklyn Center, Columbia Heights and Fridley.
The Cook Political Report ranks the race as "Solid D."
Nagel, who is from St. Louis Park, told Fox News Digital his years in law enforcement have never been about partisanship and that he intends to speak to all voters regardless of party affiliation.
"When I would get to a crash scene, I didn't ask them if they were a Democrat or Republican before I gave them first aid," Nagel said. "I don't care who you are, I don't care how you voted in the past."
"If you want lower taxes, if you want to have pro-police, if you want your schools to be better, if you just want to [have] a normal life where your paycheck comes back to you and you can go to work every morning and not have much to worry about, those are the people that I want to talk to," he continued.
Nagel said concerns about Minnesota's economy and schools are also driving his campaign, arguing that the state is losing jobs and risks making itself unattractive to families and businesses.
"We are losing jobs," Nagel said. "Our school system is so bad that no one's going to want to bring their kids here, even if we do have industry here."
"People are just fed up. They want normalcy, which is what I want," he added.
Nagel said his motivation is personal, pointing to his family and a new granddaughter as reasons he decided to enter politics.
"I'm doing this because I've got a family," he said. "I've got a brand new granddaughter. And I'm not going to leave what we currently have in Minnesota, which is a mess."
Fox News Digital reached out to Omar's campaign for comment.