Mayor-elect Kaohly Her’s historic upset of St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter started with her trailing the incumbent in the first round of ranked-choice tabulation by about 2,000 votes.
In first-choice ballots, Her gathered stronger support across Summit Hill and Macalester-Groveland, both areas with among the highest turnout in the city. She also won precincts in the W. 7th and Phalen areas.
Carter deepened his support in Frogtown, Hamline-Midway and St. Anthony Park neighborhoods, while retaining more modest support in other areas, including downtown St. Paul.
Her’s ultimate victory was the result of a ranked-choice voting reallocation process that tabulated voters’ other selections for mayor and delivered her the win by collecting the most second-choice votes from candidates like Yan Chen and Mike Hilborn.
Carter won his first election for in 2017 with a strong base of support in St. Anthony Park, Hamline-Midway, and Summit-University. He cruised to reelection in 2021, growing his margin of support in nearly every precinct citywide. Her won an upset victory this year by winning neighborhoods where Carter had previously been strong, such as Union Park and Macalester-Groveland.
