Minneapolis Mayoral Candidate Omar Fateh Loses Party Endorsement

Omar Fateh, a 35-year-old Somali-American state senator and Democratic Socialist running for mayor of Minneapolis, has had his endorsement revoked by the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party. This decision follows a review of the party’s voting process, which uncovered significant issues.

The party’s committee identified numerous flaws in the July 19th convention’s voting, including the wrongful elimination of a candidate and inaccuracies in vote counts. As a result, the endorsement for Fateh was vacated. Fateh, who received over 60% of delegate votes at the contested convention, criticized the party’s behind-closed-doors decision, accusing party insiders, supporters of incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey, and donors of undermining transparent processes.

Frey, who has served as mayor since 2017 and was reelected in 2021, expressed support for the party’s decision. He praised the DFL for correcting its mistakes and emphasized the importance of a fair electoral process. Frey also highlighted that the city’s future should be decided by its residents, not party insiders.

The review revealed that the electronic voting system was “substantially flawed,” resulting in a 176-vote undercount and the improper removal of a candidate from the race. Additional procedural issues included lost credentials, unsecured check-in sheets, and unauthorized access to digital voting data.

Despite the setback, Fateh remains committed, asserting, “We’re still in this fight, and we’re going to win.” He pointed out that party insiders’ actions do not reflect the will of Minneapolis voters and vowed to continue his campaign against Frey in the upcoming election.