Minneapolis DFL endorses Omar Fateh for mayor over incumbent Jacob Frey
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The Minneapolis DFL on Saturday endorsed state Sen. Omar Fateh to be the next mayor of the state's largest city.
In a on X, Fateh says he is incredibly honored to be the candidate endorsed for Minneapolis mayor.
"This endorsement is a message that Minneapolis residents are done with broken promises, vetoes, and politics as usual. It's a mandate to build a city that works for all of us," he said.
Fateh is currently running as a Democratic Socialist.
Current Mayor Jacob Frey's campaign manager released a statement following the vote, saying, "This election should be decided by the entire city rather than the small group of people who became delegates."
The Frey campaign intends to submit a challenge to the state DFL.
In order to win an endorsement, a candidate must receive 60% of the votes.
Chelsea McFarren is chair of Mpls for the Many, a political action committee seeking to elect progressives and a new mayor come November.
"What I think it says about Minneapolis is that we are ready to move on from the divisiveness and the incompetence of Mayor Frey and elect a new mayor," said McFarren. "I think that we've already seen what he's accomplished on the state level, he's passed education, he's a champion for workers rights."
Hamline University professor and political analyst David Schultz said while Fateh was a favorite, he thought the incumbent two-term Frey would have had the strategy, and support, to pull off a nomination.
"When incumbents run for reelection, it's really a referendum on them," said Schultz. "I think there's a lot of issues in terms of crime. I think also, for good or for bad, there's a concern about availablity and affordabilty of housing in Minneapolis."
Schultz is now calling Frey the underdog, and said he is going to be at a deficiency in terms of resources and party help.
"This is the first time since Mayor Rybak achieved 60% that a candidate for mayor has actually gotten the endorsement at the convention," said Schultz. "Does this suggest that the party is more unified? I don't know. Does this suggest that maybe the progressive wing of the party has finally succeeded in taking over? Possibly."
