Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey won his third term on the second round of the city’s ranked choice voting, which was tabulated on Wednesday morning. The result concludes a contentious race against a field of 17, which includes three other leading Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party candidates: State Sen. Omar Fateh, the Rev. DeWayne Davis, and Jazz Hampton.
The final unofficial tally shows Frey, Minneapolis’ second Jewish mayor, winning with 73,723 votes – 50.05 percent, to Fateh’s 44.37 percent.
On Tuesday night, Frey led after the first ballot by about 10 points, 42 percent to 32 percent; the first ballot result was nearly identical to the first ballot result in 2021 when Frey won reelection.
Frey was often butting heads with the Minneapolis City Council over the past two years, starting with the first City Council meeting of 2024, when the council pushed a resolution calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The City Council – which is made up of all DFL politicians except for Democratic Socialist Robin Wonsley – pushed a resolution that Frey opposed. His veto was overridden by a 9-3 majority, with one member abstaining.
Frey said at the time that he supported a ceasefire, a return of the hostages, and a two-state solution that gave a sovereign Palestine and Israel.
“I support a resolution that can bring people together, not divide us,” he said in January 2024. “I would sign a resolution that meets those ends and draws those conclusions. This resolution, however, is one-sided. It chooses what context and history to include, and what context and history to ignore. Including some people’s histories as valid – truthful and righteous as it may be – while ignoring others is neither progressive nor inclusive. It’s just sad.”
Ethan Roberts, the deputy executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, called Frey one of the most prominent Jewish officials in Minnesota.
“Mayor Frey clearly and very publicly leaned into being Jewish, and much more so since October 7,” Roberts said. “He has stood with the vast majority of Jews in Minneapolis and beyond in opposing one-sided resolutions that in the City Council had no business taking up.
“And his primary opponent was somebody who had promised a boycott of the JCRC, J Street, and any organization that you know represents 85% view of the Jewish community that Israel has a right to exist.”
Fateh, in his third term as a state senator, had earned the endorsement of the Democratic Socialists of America, which, in a statement on Oct. 9, 2023, said they were in solidarity with Palestinians and did not mention Hamas’ atrocities.
In the DSA’s candidate endorsement questionnaire, Fateh pledged to “refrain from any and all affiliation with the Israeli government or Zionist lobby groups, such as, but not limited to, AIPAC, CUFI (Christians United for Israel), J Street, or Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) or the JCRC.”
The City Council, which had often been a 9-4 or 10-3 vote against Frey, now appears to have moved more to the center of the DFL spectrum. Ward 7 Councilmember Katie Cashman, who voted for the ceasefire resolution, lost in her reelection bid to Elizabeth Shaffer.
“There was a strong sense that soon-to-be-former councilmember Cashman made a disastrous decision to ally herself with the DSA,” Roberts said. “There was a tremendous sense of frustration among her Jewish constituents who felt, honestly, betrayed.”
In open seats, Pearll Warren defeated Ethropic Burnett in Ward 5 to replace Jeremiah Ellison, who chose not to run for reelection. In Ward 8, Soren Stevenson got 56 percent of the vote in defeating Josh Bassais to replace the retiring Andrea Jenkins, who defeated Stevenson in 2023 by 38 votes in the final round. In Ward 11, Jamison Whiting won the seat, replacing Emily Koski who elected not to run again. She had briefly been in the race for mayor before dropping out.
School board races
In St. Louis Park, Susie Kaufman was the leading vote-getter of eight candidates for three seats on the SLP School Board, getting more than 22 percent of the vote.
“It shows people that people are ready for a change, and people want something different,” Kaufman said. “Even if people voted in the incumbent again, more people voted for me. I think that’s telling them people don’t want the same old same old.”
Incumbent Sarah Davis and Patrick Baldwin also won seats on the board.
Kaufman has been involved in gun safety advocacy for Moms Demand Action, and one of the key parts of her candidacy was academics needed to meet the needs of all students.
“We need to ensure that our academics are serving all of our students,” she said. “That we’re meeting the kids who have the most needs because they have IEPs, and we’re meeting the needs of kids who have a need for more sophisticated or gifted instruction. And I don’t think we’re doing either of those as well as we could right now.”
Johanna Hyman won one of the three seats on the Hopkins School Board, finishing second in a five-candidate field. Hyman had 22.44 percent of the vote, finishing 1.53 percent behind the top vote-getter. Eric Mandel, like Hyman, a first-time candidate, fell 47 votes short of picking up a seat on the board. He finished fourth of the five candidates in a race where there were 233 write-in votes.
“I’m deeply honored and grateful to the voters of the Hopkins school district for their confidence, support and belief in me,” Hyman said. “This election reflects the voices of so many parents, educators, and community members who believe it’s time to make positive change — a proactive, collaborative approach to progress that restores trust, strengthens academic excellence, and ensures every student has the opportunity to thrive.
“I am humbled by the responsibility to represent so many who have shared their vision for the district with me, and I’m committed to working tirelessly on behalf of our teachers, families, and all students. I’m ready to dig in and get to work.”
Suburban races
In Minnetonka, Deb Calvert is returning to her at-large seat on the city council, running unopposed in winning a second term.
In Golden Valley, Aaron Black finished sixth in a seven-person field for two seats on the Golden Valley City Council. Black had been an active volunteer in the city as a part of the Golden Valley Human Services Commission. Tracey Fussy and Chris Queitzsch were the two candidates elected.
In St. Louis Park, business-owner Miles Lerner lost his bid to unseat incumbent Sue Budd.
St. Paul upset
While one two-term Twin Cities mayor won a third term, the other did not. St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter lost to State Rep. Kaohly Her on the second ballot of that city’s ranked choice voting tabulation, in what is being called a “historic upset.” Her becomes the first woman and first Hmong American to lead St. Paul.
In congratulating Frey on his victory, Roberts also congratulated the other victorious Jewish candidates, as well as Her on her victory, while thanking Carter for his service to St. Paul.
