Rep. Ilhan Omar has endorsed state Sen. Omar Fateh in his bid for Minneapolis mayor, months after Omar condemned the state DFL’s decision to revoke the local party’s endorsement of Fateh.
Calling Fateh “a champion for working people,” Omar said Fateh stands out among the pool of 15 candidates including incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey.
“The City of Minneapolis deserves new, bold leadership that meets this pivotal moment our city is in,” Omar said in a Sunday night statement. “For many years, we have seen the concerns my neighbors and I are facing — about public safety, housing, affordability, and so much more — be met with the same tired solutions or, frankly, none at all."
Omar said Fateh’s focus on raising the minimum wage and passing rent control in Minneapolis was part of the reason she endorsed him. She also said Fateh was “prepared to fight back [against President Donald Trump and his administration] with a strong line of defense rooted in true justice and equity.”
The Minneapolis DFL endorsed Fateh, a democratic socialist, for mayor at its July convention. However, the state DFL revoked the nomination over concerns of the convention’s validity. At the time, Omar said the revocation “set an extremely dangerous precedent.”
There’s no love lost between the Fifth District congresswoman and Minneapolis’ incumbent mayor.
In the final weeks of the last mayoral election in 2021, Omar endorsed two of Frey’s leading challengers, Sheila Nezhad and Kate Knuth, as part of a rank-anybody-but-Frey alliance. The following year, Frey sniped at Omar after she defeated his ally, Don Samuels, calling her “mean-spirited.” She then called him “incompetent” and “childish.” Frey’s former campaign manager, Joe Radinovich, managed Samuels’ rematch campaign in 2024, which Omar also won.
At a joint news conference outside City Hall on Monday morning, Omar embraced Fateh and called him a “friend.”
