A near-record number of candidates filed to run for office in Minneapolis this year, signaling high interest in races that are drawing national attention amid questions on policing, political power and housing affordability.
A total of 102 people filed to run for office by the deadline on Tuesday, including 29 who submitted their paperwork the last two days of the filing period.
The municipal races — the first since George Floyd's murder by a police officer — are drawing national money as Minneapolis voters prepare to choose their next class of leaders and to determine the future of the city's Police Department.
On the ballot are the mayor's office, all 13 City Council seats, and places on the Board of Estimate & Taxation and Park & Recreation Board.
This year's races drew the second-highest number of candidates since at least 1989. The record in that time period was set in 2013, when 35 people ran for mayor, bringing the total field of candidates across all races to 108.
In the races for mayor and City Council, the only ones where candidates can list a party affiliation or principle, most of the candidates described themselves as members of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. Some listed themselves as Green Party candidates, socialists or Republicans, a mix that elections observers said was roughly on par with other years.
Below is a list of candidates running this year. Candidates are listed in alphabetical order, and incumbents are marked with an asterisk.
Mayor: Nate Atkins, Libertarian Party; AJ Awed, DFL; Troy Benjegerdes, Farmer-Labor; Bob Carney Jr., Republican; Clint Conner, DFL; Christopher W. David, DFL; Jacob Frey*, DFL; Mark Globus, DFL; Marcus Harcus, Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis; Paul Johnson, Humanitarian-Community Party; Kate Knuth, DFL; Doug Nelson, Socialist Workers Party; Sheila Nezhad, DFL; Jerrell Perry, For The People; Laverne Turner, Republican; Kevin Ward, Independent; Mike Winter, Independence-Alliance
