First-term U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., this week rejected a $2,000 contribution from fellow U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who has been criticized by colleagues on both sides of the aisle for anti-Jewish statements and disrespecting the murder of Americans during the Sept. 11, 2001 radical Muslim attacks. But InsiderAdvantage has also learned that McBath hasn’t returned another $2,000 contributed by Omar last October.
The Washington Free Beacon initially reported the latest $2,000 contribution given by Omar to McBath, whose campaign failed to list the contribution on its quarterly fundraising report. Asked about the omission, the McBath campaign first claimed “Our report is accurate” and didn’t respond further.
McBath’s campaign admitted on Wednesday, however, that the lack of disclosure was due to a decision to reject Omar’s money, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Why the rejection? Insiders point out that McBath knows that her suburban Atlanta 6th U.S. Congressional District has a heavy Jewish voter concentration in Sandy Springs and east Cobb. Furthermore, she barely won over incumbent Republican Karen Handel last November. So sources say she is being urged by advisers to appeal to centrist/independent and Jewish voters if she is to win re-election in 2020.
Omar’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment on McBath’s rejection of her contribution. The McBath campaign so far also refuses to respond to further inquiries.
