Omar Fateh concedes in Minneapolis mayoral race

State Sen. Omar Fateh, the lead challenger in Minneapolis’ mayoral race, conceded to incumbent Jacob Frey on Wednesday, while maintaining that his campaign sparked deeper conversations about affordability and workers’ rights.

Frey won a third term after securing enough support in the second round of voting under the city’s ranked-choice voting system. A record number of voters turned out for the city election.

Fateh, a 35-year-old democratic socialist and state senator in his second term, energized many young, diverse, progressive voters. He promised to make Minneapolis more affordable by increasing the minimum wage to $20 by 2028 and implementing rent control.

“They may have won this race, but we have changed the narrative about what kind of city Minneapolis can be,” Fateh said in a statement Wednesday. “Because now, truly affordable housing, workers’ rights, and public safety rooted in care are no longer side conversations; they are at the center of the narrative. We’ll keep going and believing in the bright future Minneapolis deserves.”

A win from Fateh would have broken ground, placing him as the first Muslim and first Somali American mayor of Minneapolis, which has the largest Somali community in the nation.

The Minneapolis DFL endorsed Fateh for mayor at its July convention. But the state DFL revoked the nomination over concerns of the convention’s validity.

As voters cast ballots in the ranked-choice system, Fateh stood along with candidates DeWayne Davis and Jazz Hampton in urging voters to rank all three of them, not Frey. It was an unusual moment for local politics with rivals campaigning as a slate, even when their views did not align.

Fateh had pitched himself as a mayor who could work better with the progressive City Council majority, which is sometimes at odds with the more-moderate Frey. The incumbent Frey has praised Minneapolis’ resilience and highlighted the city’s progress over his past two terms.

In his statement, Fateh thanked supporters for believing in his “scrappy campaign” and those “who believed in a vision for Minneapolis that was more affordable, that was more accountable, who showed up and worked and refused to give up on this city.”