Illustration for: Jacob Frey Secures Third Term as Minneapolis Mayor
AI-generated illustration. Visual interpretation does not represent real individuals or scenes.

Jacob Frey Secures Third Term as Minneapolis Mayor

2025-11-07

The BareStory

Incumbent Jacob Frey has won a third term as mayor of Minneapolis, defeating challenger Omar Fateh, a state senator. The election was decided using a ranked-choice voting system. After an initial round of counting Tuesday, Frey led Fateh by approximately 10 percentage points but was short of the majority needed for an outright win. A second and final round of counting gave Frey 50.03% of the vote to Fateh's 44.37%, according to final but unofficial results. The election set a turnout record for a Minneapolis municipal race, with 55% of registered voters participating. The results are scheduled to be certified by the city council on Monday.

In a victory statement, Frey said he would work to make Minneapolis a place with affordable homes and safe neighborhoods. Fateh congratulated Frey, stating his campaign had successfully changed the city's political narrative to focus on affordable housing, workers' rights, and public safety. Fateh, a democratic socialist, ran on a platform to the left of the incumbent. One account noted that Frey has opposed policies like rent control.

The mayoral race featured a 15-candidate field. Fateh had formed an alliance with two other candidates, DeWayne Davis and Jazz Hampton, which encouraged their supporters to rank one another on their ballots. During the campaign, the state's Democratic-Farmer-Labor party revoked its endorsement of Fateh, citing what it described as "substantial failures" in the convention's voting process. According to one summary, a city councilwoman who supports Frey, Linea Palmisano, accused Fateh of "cheating."

Left Perspective

  • Frey secured a definitive mandate for a third term.
  • The mayor is focused on addressing key urban challenges.
  • Questions were raised about the integrity of the challenger's campaign.

Right Perspective

  • Fateh’s campaign successfully influenced the city's political dialogue.
  • A significant portion of the electorate backed a more progressive vision.
  • The election's high turnout reflects strong civic engagement around the race's issues.

How it may affect me

As a U.S. reader:

• The election serves as a national case study for ranked-choice voting, offering data on its function for other jurisdictions considering similar electoral reforms.

• The strong showing for a progressive challenger may indicate a growing trend of support for similar left-leaning platforms in other major U.S. city elections.

• Minneapolis's approach to housing affordability, which includes the re-elected mayor's opposition to rent control, may influence policy debates in other cities facing similar issues.

Read the story at