The Associated Press reports that former Democratic Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels declared his intention to challenge Democratic Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar for re-election on Sunday.

Prior to this, in August 2022, Samuels ran against Omar in a campaign where he was narrowly defeated with 48.2 percent of the vote in contrast to 50.3 percent for Omar.

According to AP, Samuels deemed Omar, a member of the ‘Squad,’ divisive and believes a more moderate alternative is required.

“Our congresswoman has a predilection to divisiveness and conflict,” Samuels told the outlet.

“She has frightened the Jewish community,” Samuels added.

He further pointed to a “latent and lurking antisemitic sentiment that always needs discouragement, and always in times of national crisis raises its ugly head.”

In the 2022 election, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi provided a belated endorsement to Omar. However, local officials in Minneapolis also extended substantial support to the Samuels, who were born in Jamaica.

“The long tails of the George Floyd and COVID issues continue, with empty storefronts and empty strip malls because people don’t want to invest anymore. They don’t think it’s safe,” Samuels told the AP.

Samuels expressed opposition to the defunding of law enforcement in the wake of the George Floyd death, whereas Omar characterized it as a “policy demand,” as reported by the outlet.

The Associated Press reports that additional declared candidates consist of Tim Peterson, a military veteran, Sarah Gad, a lawyer for the Democrats, and Dalia Al-Aqidi, an Iraqi-American journalist for the Republicans.

Samuels and Omar failed to provide a prompt response to the request for comment made by the Daily Caller News Foundation.