Frey Secures Third Term as Minneapolis Mayor in Tight Ranked-Choice Vote

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has won a third term in office after defeating Democratic socialist challenger Omar Fateh in a closely contested ranked-choice voting election. The final results, posted Wednesday but still unofficial, showed Frey narrowly clearing the threshold needed for victory with 50.03% of the vote compared to Fateh’s 44.37% in the second round of counting.

Frey, a mainstream Democrat, had led Fateh by about 10 percentage points after Tuesday night’s initial ballot count but fell just short of the required majority. Under Minneapolis’ ranked-choice system, candidates with the fewest votes were eliminated, and second and third preferences were redistributed to the remaining contenders, ultimately pushing Frey over the 50% mark.

“The message that has been sent loud and clear is that we have to love our city more than our ideology,” Frey told reporters at a news conference following his victory. “We need to be doing everything possible to push back on authoritarianism and what Donald Trump is doing. And at the same time, the opposite of Donald Trump extremism is not the opposite extreme.”

The race highlighted deep political divisions within Minneapolis. Fateh, a state senator, joined with other progressive candidates Reverend DeWayne Davis and businessman Jazz Hampton in an alliance that urged voters to rank each other but not Frey – a strategy that ultimately fell short of unseating the incumbent.

Fateh congratulated the mayor while emphasizing that his campaign’s impact would continue. “They may have won this race, but we have changed the narrative about what kind of city Minneapolis can be,” Fateh said in a statement. “Because now, truly affordable housing, workers’ rights, and public safety rooted in care are no longer side conversations; they are at the center of the narrative.”

Fateh had hoped to make history as Minneapolis’ first Muslim and first Somali American mayor, which would have been particularly significant given the city’s status as home to the largest Somali population in the United States. Political observers had drawn comparisons between Fateh and Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist who won New York City’s mayoral race on Tuesday, noting similarities in their immigrant family backgrounds and progressive platforms.

Frey’s victory represents a slight improvement from his 2021 performance, when he received 49.1% of the vote. However, the mayor will continue governing alongside a City Council where progressives – including some who identify as democratic socialists – maintained a narrow majority. This dynamic sets the stage for potential ongoing tensions, as Frey has frequently clashed with the council’s progressive wing.

The election occurred against the backdrop of Minneapolis’ continued recovery from the turmoil following George Floyd’s murder in 2020. Frey’s administration has since negotiated agreements with state and federal authorities to reform the police department, which lost hundreds of officers in the aftermath of Floyd’s death.

Election officials reported record turnout for a Minneapolis municipal election, with more than 147,000 residents casting ballots – representing 55% of registered voters. This slightly exceeded the previous record of 54% set in 2021, reflecting the high stakes and intense interest in the race. The City Council is expected to certify the final results on Monday.

In neighboring St. Paul, Democratic state Representative Kaohly Her defeated incumbent Democratic Mayor Melvin Carter early Wednesday. Her victory is historic, as she will become the first woman and first Hmong American to serve as mayor of Minnesota’s capital city, which is home to the nation’s largest Hmong population. Adding to the significance of her win, Her will be working with an all-female City Council.