In a room filled with teary supporters, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter stood arm-in-arm with his wife and conceded the mayoral election to Kaohly Her after midnight on Wednesday.
Carter, who led St. Paul for two terms and was vying for an additional three years, said the election was never about him and always about the city.
“This has never been about me and this has never been about my team,” Carter said at the Black Hart bar. “This has to be about the city, and that means we have to set Her up for success.”
Carter congratulated Her on her historic election and thanked his wife and his team for the past eight years in office.
Carter faced the toughest challenge of his career from Her, a state legislator and a former aide in his office who raised questions about whether Carter was still engaged in running the city. His stunning loss halts the rapid rise of Carter, who was re-elected with a wide margin four years ago and was widely seen as a top prospect on the DFL’s bench for higher office.
The fifth-generation St. Paulite grew up in the Rondo neighborhood, the son of a St. Paul police officer, Melvin Jr., and a mother, Toni, who has gone on to serve as a Ramsey County commissioner and a member of the Metropolitan Council.
He was elected to the St. Paul City Council in 2007 to represent Ward 1. After handily winning re-election to the council in 2011, Carter resigned in 2013 to take a job with then-Gov. Mark Dayton’s administration. When former Mayor Chris Coleman announced he would not seek re-election in 2017, Carter jumped into the race with Coleman’s full backing.
That first term saw Carter champion bold progressive policies, including a pilot for a universal basic income program and college savings accounts for newborns. Carter easily won a second term in 2021, in an election that also saw St. Paul voters approve an ordinance limiting most residential rent increases to 3% a year.
