Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey fends off progressive challengers to win third term

Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey fended off progressive challengers on Tuesday to win his third term to lead the city.

The ranked-choice election went into a second round of tabulations after no candidate topped 50% in the first round. Frey gained more second-round votes, putting him ahead of Omar Fateh, a state senator who challenged Frey from the left, according to Minneapolis Elections and Voter Services.

After Zohran Mamdani’s rise in New York City, Fateh, 35, gained attention for policy similarities and message alignment with Mamdani. Both are Democratic socialists who have tapped into local DSA chapters to knock on doors and reach out to voters.

Fifteen people ran in the Minneapolis election for mayor, with three Democratic candidates rising to the top of the heap. Fateh was the frontrunning challenger, with attorney Jazz Hampton and minister DeWayne Davis pulling in their own constituencies. The three challengers formed an alliance of sorts, appearing at each other’s events. Fateh told voters not to rank Jacob Frey on their ballots, while Hampton and Davis didn’t agree with that strategy.

Instead of a primary, Minneapolis holds caucuses and a city convention. Fateh earned the endorsement of the Minneapolis Democratic-Farmer-Labor party at the city convention earlier this year, but it was then revoked by the state party after the electronic voting system failed to capture all votes in the contest, the Minneapolis DFL acknowledged, leaving the race without an endorsed candidate. Fateh has said the revocation was due to politics and protecting the establishment.

Frey, 44, faced the challengers this year in his run for a third term. His critics cite his handling of the protests that followed the murder of George Floyd in 2020, persistent policing problems, a homelessness crisis and disagreements with the more progressive city council. Frey often serves as a moderate check on the council, which includes several Democratic socialists. He had the money advantage in the race, receiving support from the city’s business-friendly establishment.

Fateh’s platform included raising the minimum wage to $20 an hour, a plan for rent stabilization, instating a public safety system that funds alternatives to police for calls like mental health crises, and standing up to Trump. Six of the 13 council members backed him, as did prominent unions.

All the mayoral candidates said that as a progressive city, standing up to Trump is a feature of the mayor’s job. Frey has defended the city and enforced its ordinance that prevents city employees, including police, from participating in immigration enforcement, but some want to see him go farther.