The mayoral election in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is proceeding to ranked choice voting after neither leading candidate clinched a majority of the vote on Tuesday.
Democratic incumbent Jacob Frey received nearly 42% of the vote, whereas Democratic challenger Omar Fateh received almost 32%, according to the latest results. Frey is seeking a third term, and Fateh is looking to move from the Minnesota Senate to the mayor’s office. The race also included 13 other candidates who received nowhere near as many votes as the two frontrunners.
The city uses a ranked choice system, which allows voters to rank up to three candidates on their ballots in order of preference. The majority of those listed are liberal candidates, though their party affiliations vary. Loading ranked choice ballots with candidates of similar political leanings can be considered at tactic to ensure liberal voters can list other left-leaning candidates as their second and third choices.
Ballot counting resumed at 9 a.m. Wednesday local time to finish tallying the outstanding votes and to start advancing toward the second round.
Frey, a progressive Democrat, and Fateh, a socialist who has been compared to New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, not only differ in their political ideologies but also in their approaches to housing and other issues.
Frey opposes rent control, and Fateh supports rent stabilization without providing specific details. Also, Fateh has criticized Frey’s move to clear homeless encampments in the city without offering housing.
The incumbent expressed hope that he would eventually win the election, given his current 10-point lead against Fateh.
“Nobody’s declaring victory tonight,” Frey said Tuesday night. “But what I will tell you is, we are well in the lead, and we are well on the way. And we are super excited about where this city is going.”
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The trailing challenger voiced a similar sentiment, while thanking Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and others for backing him.
“So tonight, this race is too close to call,” Fateh said. “And that’s OK because every vote must be counted and reallocated. And the truth is from day one, we knew what we were up against.”