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“They may have won this race, but we have changed the narrative about what kind of city Minneapolis can be,” Omar Fateh said.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey fended off a challenge from democratic socialist Omar Fateh to secure a third term by winning enough support in the second round of the city's ranked-choice voting system.
City election officials declared Frey, a Democrat, the winner Wednesday morning after tabulating second- and subsequent-choice votes. Frey won 42% of first-choice votes, followed by Fateh with 32%, former pastor DeWayne Davis with 14%, and entrepreneur Jazz Hampton with 10%.
Fateh—a Democratic state senator and son of Somali immigrants—congratulated Frey on his victory.
“They may have won this race, but we have changed the narrative about what kind of city Minneapolis can be,” he said. “Because now, truly affordable housing, workers’ rights, and public safety rooted in care are no longer side conversations; they are at the center of the narrative.”
Thank you, Minneapolis!While this wasn’t the outcome we wanted, I am incredibly grateful to every single person who supported our grassroots campaign. I’ll keep fighting alongside you to build the city we deserve. Onward.
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— Omar Fateh (@omarfatehmn.com) November 5, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Frey said in a statement Wednesday, “From right now through my final seconds as mayor, I will work tirelessly to make our great city a place where everyone, regardless of who you are or where you come from, can build a brilliant life in an affordable home and a safe neighborhood."
Fateh’s campaign drew comparisons with that of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, another progressive state lawmaker and democratic socialist who was bombarded with racist, Islamophobic, and xenophobic hate by prominent right-wing figures. Like Mamdani, Fateh hoped voters would focus on his record of serving his constituency in the state Legislature.
Among the dozens of bills authored by Fateh were a successful proposal to fund tuition-free public colleges and universities and tribal colleges for students from families with household incomes below $80,000, including undocumented immigrants, and another measure that exempted fentanyl test strips from being considered drug paraphernalia.
Fateh was also the chief state Senate author of a bill that would have ensured that drivers on ride-hailing applications like Uber and Lyft were paid minimum wage and received workplace protections. Although the bill was approved by both houses of the state Legislature, it was vetoed by Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Gov. Tim Walz, sparking widespread outrage among progressives.
Initially chosen over Frey by state DFL delegates, Fatah's endorsement was rescinded in August by state party officials, sparking widespread outrage from progressives including Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who condemned the "inexcusable" move, which she chalked up to "the influence of big money in our politics."
One social media user wrote that the hedge fund executive Bill Ackman "went from acting like Mamdani was going to import ISIS to extending a friendly handshake… in like six hours."
After his resounding election victory on Tuesday night, New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's most prominent billionaire antagonist immediately pivoted to kiss the ring of the man he has spent the last more than half-year portraying as an existential threat to the city and the country.
Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman poured over $1.75 million into the mayor's race with a laser focus on stopping Mamdani, whom he often ambushed with several-thousand-word screeds on his X account, which boasts nearly 2 million followers. He accused Mamdani—a staunch critic of Israel—of "amplifying hate" against Jewish New Yorkers, while suggesting that his followers (which happened to include many Jewish New Yorkers) were "terror supporters."
Meanwhile, the billionaire suggested that the democratic socialist Mamdani's "affordability" centered agenda, which includes increasing taxes on corporations and the city's wealthiest residents to fund universal childcare, free buses, and a rent freeze for stabilized units, would make the city "much more dangerous and economically unviable," in part by causing an exodus of billionaires like himself.
In turn, Mamdani often invoked Ackman's name on the campaign trail, using him as the poster boy for the cossetted New York elite that was almost uniformly arrayed against his candidacy. In one exchange, Mamdani joked that Ackman was "spending more money against me than I would even tax him."
After Mamdani's convincing victory Tuesday night, fueled in large part by his dominant performance among the city's working-class voters, Ackman surprisingly did not respond with "the longest tweet in the history of tweets" to lament the result as some predicted. Instead, he came to the mayor-elect hat in hand.
"Congrats on the win," he told Mamdani on X. "Now you have a big responsibility. If I can help NYC, just let me know what I can do."
Many were quick to point out Ackman's near-immediate 180-degree turn from prophecizing doom to offering his help to the incoming mayor.
"This guy went from acting like Mamdani was going to import ISIS to extending a friendly handshake… in like six hours," noted one social media user.
But Mamdani graciously accepted the billionaire's congratulations when asked about them on Wednesday's "Good Morning America."
"I appreciated his words,” Mamdani said. "I think what I find is that there is a needed commitment from leaders of the city to speak and work with anyone who is committed to lowering the cost of living in the city—and that’s something that I will fulfill."
As Bloomberg and Forbes noted, Ackman was just one of many on Wall Street and from the broader finance world who came to kiss the ring.
Ralph Schlosstein, a co-founder of the investment fund BlackRock, Inc., pledged to work with Mamdani despite their different politics: "I do care deeply about the city, and I’m not going anywhere, whoever the mayor is. I’m going to do whatever I can to help him be successful," he said.
Another former BlackRock executive, Mark Kronfeld, said: "Is it a dystopian, post-apocalyptic environment because Mamdani has won? No."
Crypto billionaire Mike Novogratz even credited Mamdani with "tapping into a message that’s real: that we’ve got a tale of two cities in the Dickensian sense," and asked if the incoming mayor could "address the affordability issue in creative ways without driving business out."
But while Mamdani has left the door open to business, he has made it clear that he will not allow them to commandeer his work at City Hall.
After his victory, he called on his base of largely small-dollar donors to resume their financial support for him in order to fund "a transition that can meet the moment of preparing for January 1.”
He announced that this historic all-female transition team will include at least one renowned titan of economic populism, the trust-busting former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, as well as other progressive city administrators with backgrounds in expanding the social safety net and public housing.
"I’m excited for the fact that it will be funded by the very people who brought us to this point," Mamdani said, "the working people who have been lost behind by the politics of the city."
Democrats won big by fighting against Trump’s attempts at tyranny and pledging to do everything in their power to make America affordable for everyone.
Tuesday night, American voters sent Democrats a message: In the face of President Donald Trump’s lawlessness, the American people want you to fight—not fold.
Congressional Democrats must respect the will and mandate of the people. Americans voted for their elected officials to stand up to Trump and make America affordable for everybody.
For months, Trump has behaved like a tyrannical dictator. He’s broken Social Security by pushing out thousands of dedicated public servants. He’s gutted Medicaid, which will force rural hospitals and nursing homes to close—all to give tax cuts to billionaires. And every time Americans go to the grocery store, prices are up again due to Trump’s tariffs.
All across the country, from Virginia to New Jersey to Georgia to New York City, Americans resoundingly voted against Trump and MAGA. Democrats won big by fighting against Trump’s attempts at tyranny and pledging to do everything in their power to make America affordable for everyone.
From moderate governors-elect in Virginia and New Jersey to a democratic socialist mayor-elect in New York City, and everywhere in between, there was only one message: Fight Trumpism and make America affordable.
Congressional Democrats have done just that for the last 35 days. They are refusing to sign off on a partisan Republican government funding bill that does nothing to stop health insurance costs from doubling (and in many cases, tripling) for tens of millions of Americans or to reverse the massive cuts to Medicaid. Republicans control the House, Senate, and White House. But instead of negotiating with Democrats to protect our healthcare, they shut down the government and left for a weeks-long paid vacation.
Going into this week’s elections, rumors were flying in DC that a gang of Senate Democrats was preparing to cave to Republicans. They want to provide Republicans with Democratic votes on their funding bill in exchange for nothing more than the promise of a vote on healthcare later.
Polling shows that Americans rightfully blame Republicans for both the government shutdown and exploding healthcare costs.
After this week’s elections, it’s Republicans who are feeling the pressure. If Democrats stand strong, they can win this fight—and save healthcare for millions of Americans.
From moderate governors-elect in Virginia and New Jersey to a democratic socialist mayor-elect in New York City, and everywhere in between, there was only one message: Fight Trumpism and make America affordable. The only people who cannot see the unified message of the entire spectrum of Democrats are people like TV pundits who are paid to not see it.
Eight Democratic Senators cannot be allowed to subvert the will of the voters clearly expressed Tuesday night.
Democratic leadership in the House and the Senate sent a letter this morning to Trump. It said: “We write to demand a bipartisan meeting of legislative leaders to end the GOP shutdown of the federal government and decisively address the Republican healthcare crisis. Democrats stand ready to meet with you face to face, anytime and anyplace.”
And yet, a gang of Senate Democrats are signaling to the press that they are going to not fight Trump and not make America affordable, by caving on the shutdown without securing lower healthcare costs. Overriding their own Senate leadership and colleagues, while also undermining the will of the American people.
Eight Democratic Senators cannot be allowed to subvert the will of the voters clearly expressed Tuesday night. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto from Nevada and retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen from New Hampshire are ringleaders of the cave-for-nothing caucus. Call them today and tell them to listen to the people, fight Trump, and make America affordable by fixing the Republican healthcare crisis!