The Minneapolis mayor’s race will advance to ranked choice voting after none of the candidates received at least 50% of the vote in Tuesday’s election, The Associated Press has reported.

Minneapolis allows voters to rank up to three candidates in its municipal races. The field for mayor included more than a dozen candidates. As of 10:41 p.m. EST Tuesday, Jacob Frey and Omar Fateh had received the most first-choice results.

Fateh made waves on the national political stage this year, drawing comparisons to Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign in New York City after The Minnesota Star Tribune dubbed him the «Mamdani of Minneapolis.»

The 35-year-old son of Somali immigrants who became the first Somali-American elected to the Minnesota state Senate in 2020 challenged incumbent Frey head-on this year, criticizing the comparatively moderate Democrat for failing to «meet the needs of our changing society.»

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Fateh was endorsed by Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor party this summer, the first endorsement of a Minneapolis mayoral candidate in 16 years, before DFL Chairman Richard Carlbom rescinded the coveted endorsement a month later. 

«I am incredibly honored to be the DFL endorsed candidate 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,» Fateh said on X in July. 

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«After a thoughtful and transparent review of the challenges, the Constitution, Bylaws & Rules Committee found substantial failures in the Minneapolis Convention’s voting process on July 19th, including an acknowledgment that a mayoral candidate was errantly eliminated from contention. As a result, the Constitution, Bylaws & Rules Committee has vacated the mayoral endorsement,» Carlbom said the following month. 

But with the backing of the Twin Cities’ chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America and «Squad» member Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who represents Minneapolis in the U.S. House of Representatives, Fateh’s progressive campaign maintained momentum.

There were 15 mayoral candidates on the ballot in Minneapolis Tuesday after the city did not hold a mayoral primary. And while candidates can still identify politically, city races in Minneapolis are officially nonpartisan.

In an attempt to consolidate support against the incumbent frontrunner Frey, Fateh urged his supporters to rank pastor DeWayne Davis and attorney Jazz Hampton as their second and third choices.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey speaks during a press conference at City Hall after a mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School Aug. 28, 2025, in Minneapolis.  (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

In Minneapolis, if a candidate receives more than 50% of first-choice votes, that candidate wins outright.

But if no one gets a majority, counting moves to additional rounds. After each round, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and those ballots are redistributed to the next-ranked candidate on each voter’s ballot. The process continues until one candidate has a majority and can be declared the winner.

According to The Associated Press, every mayoral race in Minneapolis since 2013 has gone to at least a second round of ranked-choice voting. 

Frey ousted an incumbent in 2017 after six rounds of tabulation. Then, in 2021, Frey won re-election after two rounds.

A campaign sign for Omar Fateh is displayed near Riverside Plaza in Minneapolis’ Cedar–Riverside neighborhood. (Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital)

The last mayor’s race took the national stage after the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis in 2020, triggering national and international protests rejecting police brutality amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., who was former Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate last year and is up for re-election next year, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., endorsed Frey’s campaign this year.

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And Minneapolis was once again in the national spotlight this year. 

The city is still reeling from a massacre at a back-to-school Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church in August, where two children were killed and 17 others were injured when a shooter opened fire before committing suicide. 

Associated Press contributed to this report

Democrats claimed victory in a trio of high-stakes elections that largely focused on economic anxiety and affordability issues. 

New Jersey Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill defeated Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli in the New Jersey governor’s race, while former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger defeated Republican challenger Winsome Earle-Sears in the Virginia gubernatorial race. In the Empire State, Socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani claimed victory over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent, and Republican Curtis Sliwa. 

The three sweeps come as Republicans worked to make inroads in the historically liberal or left-leaning jurisdictions, including campaigning on lowering taxes.

In all three elections, the economy and affordability were top concerns, according to polling data, with the liberal candidates leaning into blaming the White House for economic anxiety. 

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In New Jersey, voters reported that the state’s notoriously high taxes and the economy were their top issues heading into the polling stations, according to Fox News Voter Poll data. In Virginia, half of voters reported that the economy was their top issue, more than double the number who reported healthcare as their top concern, according to Fox polling data. 

In New York City, affordability was by far voters’ top concern, according to Fox News Voter Poll data, with Mamdani notching a significant win over his challengers. Mamdani ran on policies such as city-run groceries to lower food costs, eliminating bus fares, implementing rent freezes on rent-stabilized units and other affordable housing proposals.

Voters responded by voting for Democrats following President Donald Trump’s decisive win over former Vice President Kamala Harris just more than a year ago in a federal election that also focused on the economy amid spiraling inflation woes. 

Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger celebrates as she takes the stage during her election night rally at the Greater Richmond Convention Center Nov. 4, 2025. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Trump and other conservatives have railed against Mamdani as a «communist» who threatens New York City’s massive economy and a symbol of American capitalism, while left-wing supporters have championed he will ease the cost burden on residents facing sky-high rent, taxes and food costs. 

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«Zohran Mamdani, a 100% Communist Lunatic, has just won the Dem Primary, and is on his way to becoming Mayor,» Trump wrote on Truth Social in June. «We’ve had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous. He looks TERRIBLE, his voice is grating, he’s not very smart.»

The trio of high-profile Democrats who won their elections campaigned in part against Trump administration policies and affordability woes. 

Rep. Mikie Sherrill, Democratic gubernatorial candidate for New Jersey, checks-in to cast her ballot at a polling location inside Hillside Elementary School in Montclair, New Jersey, Nov. 4, 2025.  (John Lamparski/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

«Donald Trump needs to answer directly to Virginians on why he is actively cutting Virginia jobs and hurting the Virginia economy,» Spanberger said in October. «The Trump Administration has taken a sledgehammer approach to governing that has hurt Virginia’s workers, businesses, and economy.»  

Sherrill pitched the current economy as a «catastrophe,» including claiming Trump’s tariffs would be disastrous. 

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«Donald Trump just implemented the biggest tax increase in my lifetime — an economic catastrophe for New Jersey families,» Sherrill said in April as Trump announced increased tariffs on foreign nations. «This will raise costs to the tune of almost $4,000 per year, and many companies have already announced layoffs. No wonder the Wall Street Journal called it the ‘dumbest trade war in history.’» 

New Jersey, a historically deep blue state, was viewed as the most likely to potentially flip red after the 2024 federal election showed Trump made inroads with Garden State voters, including flipping five counties to the GOP. 

President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order barring transgender female athletes from competing in women’s or girls’ sporting events, in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Washington.  (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press)

Following Spanberger’s win Tuesday, she celebrated that she will reinvigorate the Old Dominion State’s economy. 

«Virginia chose pragmatism over partisanship,» Spanberger said. «We chose our commonwealth over chaos.» 

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«You all chose leadership that will focus relentlessly on what matters most — lowering costs, keeping our communities safe and strengthening our economy for every Virginian,» she said.

Trump responded to the Democrat wins Tuesday with a quote from pollsters that the ongoing government shutdown was partially due to the Republican losses. 

«‘TRUMP WASN’T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT,’ according to Pollsters,» Trump posted on Truth Social.