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Politics Election takeaways: A historic St. Paul upset, mixed messages in Minneapolis, and a DFL Senate State Rep. Kaohly Her channeled frustration with Mayor Melvin Carter over stubborn problems in St. Paul. By Star Tribune staff The Minnesota Star Tribune November 5, 2025 at 6:40AM Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey’s supporters cheered for their candidate as he spoke at their election night watch party at Jefe Urban Cocina in Minneapolis Tuesday night. (Jeff Wheeler/The Minnesota Star Tribune) An anti-Frey council? A progressive council paired with Frey as mayor would continue an adversarial and sometimes rancorous environment at city hall over the last two years. Not only have the sides traded barbs — sometimes profane — but seven council members have managed to round up two additional votes to override Frey’s vetoes. In 2024, that majority overrode Frey’s vetoes of a minimum pay rate for rideshare drivers, an Israel-Hamas ceasefire resolution, and a carbon emissions fee. The bloc attempted but failed to override Frey’s veto of a new labor standards board and a denial of raises for about 160 high-paid city employees. (Frey supported giving the raises.) Progressive candidates won in seven Minneapolis wards, while candidates more aligned with Frey have won or are leading first-choice votes in six wards. Still, it’s not clear that the progressive bloc will be able to overturn Frey’s vetoes in the same way given the new makeup of the council. The only incumbent council member to lose was Katie Cashman, who was ousted by Frey-aligned Elizabeth Shaffer. DFL holds state Senate lead Democrats will keep a slim 34-33 majority in the state Senate after easily winning a special election where Republicans hoped to capitalize on any voter discontent with the DFL after former state Sen. Nicole Mitchell resigned in the wake of a burglary conviction. If voters were frustrated that Mitchell stayed in office — and was a key vote for Democrats on significant legislation — while fighting those charges, that anger wasn’t enough to swing the race for the Republican in the race. Democrats are facing for a growing number of investigations into Medicaid fraud in state programs, but that did not help the GOP to victory either. The outcome is yet another sign of Democratic strength in the Twin Cities suburbs. Mitchell’s suburban district, which includes Woodbury and parts of Maple Grove, was once favorable ground for Republicans. But voters there have reliably voted for Democrats over the last several elections. DFL state Rep. Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger beat Republican Dwight Dorau by 24 percentage points. Mitchell first won office in 2022 with a smaller margin, beating Dorau by more than 17 percentage points. Republican Michael Holmstrom Jr. easily won a special election for state Senate by 24 percentage points in a conservative-leaning district that includes Buffalo, Annandale and Monticello. Longtime Republican Sen. Bruce Anderson died in July at 75. Star Tribune staff See More
