Jacob Frey Wins Third Term as Minneapolis Mayor After Tight Race
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has secured a third term in office after fending off a group of strong progressive challengers in a tense and closely watched election. The race, which used the city’s ranked-choice voting system, went into a second round of vote tabulations when no candidate managed to secure more than 50% of the vote in the first round. In the final count, Frey pulled ahead of his main rival, State Senator Omar Fateh, who had campaigned from the left with strong backing from progressive circles.
This election drew considerable attention both locally and nationally, particularly because of Fateh’s rise within the Democratic socialist movement. He had gained momentum after aligning himself with figures like New York’s Zohran Mamdani, emphasizing policies such as rent stabilization, a $20 minimum wage, and new public safety strategies that would fund alternatives to traditional policing for issues like mental health crises. Fateh’s message resonated with many progressives in Minneapolis, a city known for its strong activist roots, especially since the 2020 protests following George Floyd’s death.
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Still, despite that energy, it was Frey—now 44—who managed to maintain his lead. Known as a moderate within the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, Frey positioned himself as a stabilizing figure amid divisions within the city council, which includes several Democratic socialists. His handling of public safety and homelessness has often drawn criticism, but his supporters see him as a pragmatic voice balancing competing priorities.
The field was crowded, with 15 candidates running for the mayor’s seat, though three Democratic contenders—Fateh, attorney Jazz Hampton, and minister DeWayne Davis—stood out among the rest. Interestingly, the three formed a loose alliance, appearing at each other’s events and sharing progressive platforms. However, they diverged in strategy—Fateh urged voters not to rank Frey at all, while Hampton and Davis rejected that approach.
Fateh had initially secured the endorsement of the Minneapolis Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party earlier in the year, but the endorsement was later revoked by the state party after a dispute over electronic voting errors. Fateh claimed the decision was politically motivated to protect establishment interests.
Frey, meanwhile, had a clear advantage in campaign funding, supported by the city’s more business-friendly donors and moderate voters. He emphasized his commitment to maintaining Minneapolis’s sanctuary city policies, which prohibit local police from assisting in federal immigration enforcement, while also pledging to address housing and safety challenges more effectively in his new term.
As he celebrates this victory, Frey now faces the ongoing task of bridging Minneapolis’s political divides—balancing the demands of a progressive city with the practical challenges of governance. His third term will be a test of whether his centrist approach can keep the city moving forward while addressing the concerns of those pushing for deeper, faster change.
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