# 2025 Minneapolis mayoral election
The 2025 [Minneapolis](https://www.edgepedia.org/minneapolis) mayoral election was held on November 4, 2025, to choose the mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey won a third term, defeating state Senator Omar Fateh and 13 other candidates in the second and final round of the city's ranked-choice voting tabulation, with 50.03% of final-round votes to Fateh's 44.37%.[1](https://vote.minneapolismn.gov/results-data/election-results/2025/mayor/) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/e8d2d9ae7d0a12834c5c18a1648a92b6)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Election date | Tuesday, November 4, 2025, municipal election; polls open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.[1](https://vote.minneapolismn.gov/results-data/election-results/2025/mayor/) • [3](https://www.minneapolismn.gov/media/-www-content-assets/documents/Voter-Guide-2025-English-Web.pdf) |
| Winner | Jacob Frey, elected after two rounds of tabulation with 73,723 final-round votes, 50.03%[1](https://vote.minneapolismn.gov/results-data/election-results/2025/mayor/) |
| Runner-up | Omar Fateh, 65,377 final-round votes, 44.37%; 46,614 first-choice votes to Frey's 61,444[1](https://vote.minneapolismn.gov/results-data/election-results/2025/mayor/) |
| Field size | 15 candidates on the nonpartisan general election ballot[4](https://news.ballotpedia.org/2025/09/18/incumbent-jacob-frey-omar-fateh-and-13-others-running-in-nonpartisan-general-election-for-mayor-of-minneapolis/) |
| Voting method | Ranked-choice voting, adopted in 2009; voters rank up to three candidates[5](https://apnews.com/article/456350ce77bfbf12eb0b2d59da379b9b) |
| DFL endorsement | Fateh endorsed July 19, 2025; the statewide DFL revoked it on August 21, 2025[4](https://news.ballotpedia.org/2025/09/18/incumbent-jacob-frey-omar-fateh-and-13-others-running-in-nonpartisan-general-election-for-mayor-of-minneapolis/) |
| Turnout | Minneapolis turnout surpassed the previous record set in the 2021 ranked-choice mayoral election[6](https://fairvote.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2025_Year-in-Review_Final.pdf) |
## Candidates
Fifteen candidates appeared on the nonpartisan ballot, which in Minneapolis lists no party labels.[4](https://news.ballotpedia.org/2025/09/18/incumbent-jacob-frey-omar-fateh-and-13-others-running-in-nonpartisan-general-election-for-mayor-of-minneapolis/) Frey, a Democrat seeking a third term, had led the city through the 2020 murder of [George Floyd](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-floyd) and the COVID-19 pandemic, and won his 2021 reelection with 56% in the second round of that year's ranked-choice count.[7](https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/minneapolis-mayor-jacob-frey-interview-october-19-2025/)
His best-funded and highest-profile challenger was state Senator Omar Fateh, who describes himself as a democratic socialist.[5](https://apnews.com/article/456350ce77bfbf12eb0b2d59da379b9b) Fateh, the son of immigrants, is the first Somali American and Muslim to serve in the Minnesota Senate, and his campaign focused on affordability; observers compared him to [Zohran Mamdani](https://www.edgepedia.org/zohran-mamdani), whose New York City primary victory months earlier drew national attention to young democratic-socialist mayoral candidates.[8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/07/24/mamdani-mayor-minneapolis-democrats/) • [9](https://www.axios.com/2025/07/26/progressive-upstarts-mamdani-mayoral-primary)
The next tier of candidates included the Rev. DeWayne Davis and Jazz Hampton, positioned between Frey and the more left-leaning Fateh; both finished well behind in first-choice votes, with 20,414 and 15,339 respectively.[1](https://vote.minneapolismn.gov/results-data/election-results/2025/mayor/) • [10](https://sahanjournal.com/democracy-politics/minneapolis-mayoral-election-slate-for-change-jacob-frey/) Emily Koski, a council member who had entered the race, dropped out and did not seek reelection to her council seat.[11](https://www.axios.com/local/twin-cities/2025/04/08/minneapolis-mayor-city-council-2025)
## The DFL endorsement dispute
The Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) endorsement became the race's central controversy. At the citywide convention on July 19, 2025, Minneapolis DFL delegates endorsed Fateh over the sitting Democratic mayor; endorsement requires a candidate to win at least 60% of delegates, and this was the first time the Minneapolis DFL had endorsed a mayoral candidate since 2009.[4](https://news.ballotpedia.org/2025/09/18/incumbent-jacob-frey-omar-fateh-and-13-others-running-in-nonpartisan-general-election-for-mayor-of-minneapolis/) Frey formally challenged the result, and convention organizers conceded that a ballot mix-up had partially affected the outcome: DeWayne Davis would not have been dropped from consideration on the second ballot.[12](https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-twin-cities-2ef2e2b0-7c46-11f0-9dd8-791df130f432) On August 21, 2025, the statewide DFL reviewed the challenges and revoked the endorsement.[4](https://news.ballotpedia.org/2025/09/18/incumbent-jacob-frey-omar-fateh-and-13-others-running-in-nonpartisan-general-election-for-mayor-of-minneapolis/)
## Campaign issues
**Public safety and encampments.** Overall violent crime statistics in Minneapolis were down in 2025, with shots-fired calls falling from 4,900 to 3,900, gunshot wound victims from 311 to 265, homicides from 65 to 52, and carjackings from 215 to 146.[7](https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/minneapolis-mayor-jacob-frey-interview-october-19-2025/) Homeless encampments were a persistent flashpoint. A shooting at a South Minneapolis encampment in September that killed one woman and wounded six people put Frey's approach under scrutiny; his administration had ordered police to proactively break up small encampments before they grow, and Frey argued the strategy was working, citing a 30% shrinkage in the county's unsheltered homeless population since 2020. Fateh said he would pivot away from sweeps and supported legalizing city-sanctioned encampments.[13](https://www.axios.com/local/twin-cities/2025/09/23/minneapolis-homelessness-mayor-election)
**Housing and downtown.** Debate topics included affordable housing, economic revitalization in Uptown and downtown, and the shifting tax base.[14](https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/09/26/minneapolis-mayoral-candidate-debate-highlights-key-city-issues) Fateh supported rent stabilization as one measure to address the housing crisis.[15](https://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-mayor-election-candidate-issues/601512515/)
## Result and tabulation
None of the candidates received at least 50% of first-choice votes, so under Minneapolis rules the race advanced to ranked-choice tabulation.[16](https://apnews.com/article/25441f27268c86973bcf9e96b7fb41e1) After two rounds, Frey was elected with 50.03% of the final-round vote; Davis and the eight lower-finishing candidates were eliminated in round 2, and their ballots' transfers left Frey ahead of Fateh by 73,723 to 65,377 votes.[1](https://vote.minneapolismn.gov/results-data/election-results/2025/mayor/) Davis, Hampton, and Fateh had formed a coalition urging supporters not to rank Frey second or third, a "Slate for Change" strategy that city election data showed fell short.[7](https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/minneapolis-mayor-jacob-frey-interview-october-19-2025/) • [10](https://sahanjournal.com/democracy-politics/minneapolis-mayoral-election-slate-for-change-jacob-frey/)
The result stood in contrast to New York City, where Mamdani had won in November 2025; Minneapolis instead reelected its moderate incumbent, though turnout exceeded the 2021 record.[6](https://fairvote.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2025_Year-in-Review_Final.pdf) The same ballot also filled all 13 City Council seats, the Board of Estimate and Taxation, and Park and Recreation Commission positions.[17](https://vote.minneapolismn.gov/results-data/election-results/2025/)
## References
1. [2025 Mayor results, City of Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services](https://vote.minneapolismn.gov/results-data/election-results/2025/mayor/)
2. [Jacob Frey fends off democratic socialist's challenge to win 3rd term as Minneapolis mayor, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/e8d2d9ae7d0a12834c5c18a1648a92b6)
3. [2025 Minneapolis Voter Information Guide, City of Minneapolis](https://www.minneapolismn.gov/media/-www-content-assets/documents/Voter-Guide-2025-English-Web.pdf)
4. [Incumbent Jacob Frey, Omar Fateh, and 13 others running in nonpartisan general election for mayor of Minneapolis, Ballotpedia News](https://news.ballotpedia.org/2025/09/18/incumbent-jacob-frey-omar-fateh-and-13-others-running-in-nonpartisan-general-election-for-mayor-of-minneapolis/)
5. [AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Minnesota on Election Day, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/456350ce77bfbf12eb0b2d59da379b9b)
6. [Ranked Choice Voting in 2025: A Year in Review, FairVote](https://fairvote.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2025_Year-in-Review_Final.pdf)
7. [Minneapolis Mayor Frey talks 3rd-term run, crime drop and standing by undocumented "neighbors," CBS Minnesota](https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/minneapolis-mayor-jacob-frey-interview-october-19-2025/)
8. [Is a Mamdani repeat coming? Minnesota Democrats endorse a democratic socialist in Minneapolis, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/07/24/mamdani-mayor-minneapolis-democrats/)
9. [Progressive upstarts shake up 2025 mayoral races, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2025/07/26/progressive-upstarts-mamdani-mayoral-primary)
10. [How the 'Slate for Change' played out in the Minneapolis mayoral election, Sahan Journal](https://sahanjournal.com/democracy-politics/minneapolis-mayoral-election-slate-for-change-jacob-frey/)
11. [Who's running for Minneapolis mayor and city council in 2025, Axios Twin Cities](https://www.axios.com/local/twin-cities/2025/04/08/minneapolis-mayor-city-council-2025)
12. [Axios Twin Cities newsletter, August 19, 2025](https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-twin-cities-2ef2e2b0-7c46-11f0-9dd8-791df130f432)
13. [With election looming, encampment violence tests Frey's record, Axios Twin Cities](https://www.axios.com/local/twin-cities/2025/09/23/minneapolis-homelessness-mayor-election)
14. [Minneapolis mayoral candidate debate highlights key city issues, MPR News](https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/09/26/minneapolis-mayoral-candidate-debate-highlights-key-city-issues)
15. [Where the Minneapolis mayoral candidates stand on the issues, The Minnesota Star Tribune](https://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-mayor-election-candidate-issues/601512515/)
16. [AP Race Call: Minneapolis mayor's race advances to ranked choice voting, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/25441f27268c86973bcf9e96b7fb41e1)
17. [2025 Election results, City of Minneapolis](https://vote.minneapolismn.gov/results-data/election-results/2025/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Politics and government › Elections and representation › Elections and referendums › United States election events › US state and local election events › US municipal and mayoral elections › Midwest and Northeast large-city election series*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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