Copyright Star Tribune
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has been declared the winner of the 2025 mayoral election, earning a third term and staving off a challenge by democratic socialist Omar Fateh. Frey won after ballots were retabulated Wednesday in the ranked-choice election, which drew a record number of voters for a city election, 55% of registered voters, breaking the 54% mark set in 2021. Running on a vow that the city is on the upswing after two tumultuous terms, Frey won 42% of the first-choice votes, followed by Fateh with 32%, former pastor DeWayne Davis with 14% and entrepreneur Jazz Hampton with 10%. Because nobody won a majority on Tuesday (more than 50%), election officials on Wednesday eliminated candidates who mathematically could not win, and their ballots were transferred to the next ranked choice. The process of elimination continued until Frey won a majority. “We have tackled the most difficult of circumstances. We’ve done it hand in hand, facing the world,” he said. “Minneapolis is rising, and every one of us we are going to rise along with it.” He said voters had made a statement about what kind of leadership they value — not extremism or division, but “good, thoughtful governance, where you work with your constituents and you love your city more than your ideology.” Frey also took aim at the Trump administration, promising Minneapolis would remain a city defined by compassion and conviction rather than fear or ideology. He said the city would “stand up against authoritarianism” and support those often targeted by national politics — noting that in Minneapolis, “they’re not undocumented immigrants. They are our neighbors.” Fateh quickly ascended in the past five years to become Frey’s top challenger, winning a short-lived endorsement by Minneapolis Democrats in July. That brought national attention as people drew comparisons to Zohran Mamdani, who was overwhelmingly elected New York City’s mayor: They’re both in their 30s, Muslim, state lawmakers and democratic socialists who took on the establishment. Like Mamdani, Fateh promised to make Minneapolis more affordable, through rent control, a $20 minimum wage, and perhaps an income tax on the wealthy. Fateh said he would enact real police reform and take a more humane approach to homeless encampments, and stop “bulldozing” them. Fateh told supporters at his watch party Tuesday night his campaign has “already changed the conversation for what Minneapolis can be.” “That’s what this fight has always been about — our future. A future where public safety means care, not crackdowns," he said. “A future where we treat our unhoused neighbors with dignity, where we build deeply affordable homes and keep people in the communities that they built, where workers who keep the city running earn a living wage and the respect that they deserve.” Democratic socialists will still be a powerful presence at City Hall: Three incumbent democratic socialists were re-elected Tuesday — Robin Wonsley, Aisha Chughtai and Jason Chavez — as well as a fourth who was elected as a democratic socialist but no longer identifies as one, Aurin Chowdhury. A fifth was elected to fill a vacant Ward 8 seat, Soren Stevenson, who narrowly lost two years ago to a moderate aligned with Frey, Andrea Jenkins. But the left wing lost a frequent ally, Katie Cashman, who was defeated by more-moderate Park Board member Elizabeth Shaffer. Council Member Jamal Osman cruised to re-election, but promised Tuesday night to continue to be a swing vote. That means the more-progressive wing of the 13-member council may often get Osman’s vote but no longer can count on a veto-proof majority. The executive director of the pro-Frey PAC All of Mpls, Jacob Hill, saw the election as a success, saying his side won six strong allies and Osman will be a swing vote. The council and mayor’s frequent clashes were a big topic on the campaign trail and with voters interviewed on Election Day. Frey said voters made a statement about what kind of leadership they value — not extremism or division, but “good, thoughtful governance, where you work with your constituents and you love your city more than your ideology.” Property managers, landlords and developers pumped their money into political action committees aligned with Frey, the top three of which had raised $1.6 million as of Oct. 20, dwarfing the $352,000 raised by a competing, more-progressive PAC. Pro-Frey PACs sent flyers and bought social media ads portraying Fateh as dishonest, untrustworthy and tied to corruption, noting his frequent brushes with scandal, which were the subject of two Senate ethics investigations. On Tuesday night, Fateh noted the significant outside spending pumped into the race and said his wife endured baseless attacks during the campaign. “This campaign has always belonged to the families from Hennepin to Central, from Lake Street to Little Earth,” he said. “It’s for new immigrants navigating an unfamiliar land and to the college kid counting nickels and dimes to grab a bite to eat between classes.” Hill, of All of Mpls, said Frey had the courage to speak out against extremists on both sides, and offers a blueprint for how Democrats should govern.
