The Minneapolis mayoral race has moved into a second round of vote tabulation under the city’s ranked-choice voting system. While Mayor Jacob Frey currently leads with 41.8% of the vote—with 98% of votes counted, according to the Associated Press—he has not yet surpassed the required threshold of 50% plus one vote. As a result, the race advances to the next round of counting.
State Senator Omar Fateh, the challenger most likely to unseat Frey, received 31.7% of the vote. Rev. Dr. DeWayne Davis garnered 13.7%, while all other candidates combined received 12.8%.
**How Ranked-Choice Voting Works**
In ranked-choice voting, voters select their first, second, and third choice candidates. If no candidate reaches the required majority in the initial count, election officials eliminate candidates who cannot mathematically win and redistribute those votes according to voters’ next preferences. This process continues until one candidate crosses the 50% threshold.
**Candidate Profiles**
Mayor Frey, a Reform Jew running for his third term, has positioned himself as a more pro-police candidate. He advocates for increased police presence in Minneapolis, even as he promotes programs to build out non-police “violence interrupters” within the city.
Omar Fateh, a Somali Muslim and member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), previously supported a measure to replace the city’s police force. However, he has since expressed a preference for supplementing officers with non-police responders.
**Political Landscape**
Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), the state’s Democratic affiliate, shares near parity with the Republican Party statewide. However, Minneapolis politics are dominated by the DFL and the Democratic Socialists of America. Interestingly, a DFL convention initially endorsed Fateh, but the party later rescinded that endorsement.
Shane Mekeland, a Republican member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, described Fateh as “dangerous.” Mekeland recalled an incident where Fateh refused to attend a house vote for 13 hours, effectively tying up the chamber until legislators included his bill in an omnibus spending package. Although Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., vetoed the standalone bill, he could not line-item veto the omnibus spending bill.
Mekeland also highlighted that Walz recently campaigned with Frey, noting, “There is no love lost between those two,” referencing Fateh and the governor.
**Community Support and Controversies**
Mekeland suggested that Fateh’s backing from the Somali community in Minneapolis could position him to win the governor’s mansion in the future.
He cited a 2020 Project Veritas video featuring a Somali man alleging widespread voter fraud in Minnesota aimed at supporting Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. Omar firmly rejected these claims as false. Researchers from Stanford University and the University of Washington told The New York Times that the video was part of a disinformation campaign. Additionally, the original Project Veritas source later recanted his statements.
The Daily Signal has reached out to the Minneapolis Police Department, which has reportedly opened an investigation related to the matter.
**What’s Next**
“There’s a lot riding on this election,” Mekeland told The Daily Signal. “Minneapolis will be gone. It will be over.”
Full election results are expected later this week as the ranked-choice tabulation proceeds. Stay tuned for updates.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/11/04/breaking-minneapolis-mayor-race-goes-second-tabulation/