Tuesday July 22, 2025
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (HOL) — Minnesota State Sen. Omar Fateh won the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party’s endorsement for Minneapolis mayor on Saturday, defeating two-term incumbent Jacob Frey in a contentious convention marked by voting delays and procedural disputes.
The endorsement, secured at the Minneapolis DFL convention at the Target Center, gives Fateh the backing of the state’s dominant political party in a city that overwhelmingly votes Democratic. If elected in November, he would become Minneapolis’s first Muslim mayor and the first Somali American to hold the office.
“This endorsement is a message that Minneapolis residents are done with broken promises, vetoes, and politics as usual,” Fateh said in a post on X. “It’s a mandate to build a city that works for all of us.”
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The endorsement came after a breakdown in the electronic balloting system used in the first round of delegate voting. Fateh received 43.8% of the vote, followed by Frey with 31.5%, and Rev. DeWayne Davis with 19.9%, just shy of the 20% threshold required to advance. Jazz Hampton received 4%, and Brenda Short earned less than 1%.Frey’s campaign alleged that hundreds of votes were not counted and later called on delegates to leave the convention, accusing party organizers of mishandling the process. In a mass text message sent to delegates, Frey's campaign stated: “It’s clear this convention is over and not representative.”
The final vote was conducted by a show of hands, with remaining delegates overwhelmingly supporting Fateh. Although the campaign's intent appeared to be preventing quorum, subsequent votes, including one for the Park Board, showed 478 delegates remained, well above quorum.
“This election should be decided by the entire city, not by a handful of delegates,” Frey said. His campaign has formally appealed the result to the state DFL, which has not yet issued a ruling. A spokesperson for the state party said it must remain neutral, as it may be called upon to adjudicate the matter.
The DFL had initially planned to move to a second round of paper ballots, but those plans were abandoned due to delays and walkouts as the 10 p.m. venue closure neared.
The Minneapolis DFL has not endorsed a mayoral candidate since 2009, marking a significant shift in the party’s internal alignment. The endorsement gives him access to critical party resources, including its voter database and potential financial backing. It also mirrors his 2020 political strategy, when he used the DFL endorsement to successfully unseat incumbent Sen. Jeff Hayden.
Fateh, 35, represents South Minneapolis in the state Senate and has led efforts on higher education reform, rent stabilization, and a $20 minimum wage. He chaired the Senate Higher Education Committee and introduced legislation to provide free college to families earning under $80,000. He also supported a 2021 public safety charter amendment that was criticized as an effort to defund the police.
He first gained attention in 2020 after unseating longtime incumbent Sen. Jeff Hayden in a primary challenge, becoming the first Somali American and Muslim to serve in Minnesota’s upper chamber.
His endorsement came just weeks after Zohran Mamdani, another Muslim Democratic Socialist, won the Democratic primary for New York City mayor—drawing comparisons to a broader national surge of progressive candidates, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s rise in 2018.
Frey, who has served as mayor since 2018, has previously won elections without party endorsement and retains support among moderate voters and business groups. He lost the party endorsement in both 2017 and 2021 but went on to win the general elections. He is expected to continue his campaign through the general election.
Other mayoral candidates still in the race include civil rights attorney Jazz Hampton, Rev. DeWayne Davis of Plymouth Congregational Church, and small-business owner Brenda Short.
Minneapolis will hold its general election on Nov. 4. The city uses a ranked-choice voting system, allowing voters to rank candidates in order of preference.
Political analysts say the endorsement reflects a broader shift within the DFL toward more progressive candidates and signals the growing influence of immigrant communities in local politics.
“This shows that the progressive wing is consolidating control in Minneapolis,” said Hamline University political scientist David Schultz. “It also suggests that ethnic and ideological coalition-building is playing a larger role in how candidates rise.”
Chelsea McFarren, chair of Mpls for the Many, a progressive political action committee supporting Fateh, said the endorsement reflects a city ready for change. “We are ready to move on from the divisiveness and the incompetence of Mayor Frey and elect a new mayor,” she said.