Young Muslim Socialist Could Be Minneapolis’ Next Mayor

_WHAT’S HAPPENING_

Minnesota State Senator Omar Fateh, a democratic socialist, clinched the official endorsement of the state’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party in the race for Minneapolis mayor.

The endorsement, announced Saturday night, followed a chaotic party convention where Fateh won over 60 percent of delegate support, defeating incumbent Democrat Mayor Jacob Frey.

_THE FACTS_

• The DFL endorsement came after a chaotic convention where Frey supporters walked out in protest, leaving mostly Fateh supporters left for the vote.

• This endorsement is important because it provides progressive credibility and exclusive access to the party’s voter database.

• Frey’s campaign has vowed to appeal the decision, citing problems with the voting process during the convention.

• Frey’s tenure included the 2020 BLM riots following George Floyd's death; the riots cost the city approximately $55 million in damages.

• Fateh, born in Washington, DC to Somali immigrants, won his state Senate seat in 2020.

• His platform includes rent stabilization to take on “price gouging” and diverting resources away from law enforcement to “non-police responders.”

• Fateh has vowed to prohibit Minneapolis police from cooperating with ICE under any circumstances.

• A video from 2023 shows Fateh suggesting his GOP colleagues were akin to white supremacists who represent the nation’s "greatest domestic threat."

• However, Jacob Frey previously won the general elections in 2017 and 2021 without the DFL’s endorsement.

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