Minneapolis Democrats endorse Somali-American socialist Omar Fateh for mayor just weeks after NYC branch chose '100% communist'
Omar Fateh, a 35-year-old Minnesota state senator, won the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party's endorsement for Minneapolis mayor on Saturday - an upset victory over two-term incumbent Jacob Frey that few saw coming, as reported by Axios.
The win comes less than a month after 33-year-old Zohran Mamdani defeated New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary - a victory that prompted Donald Trump to brand him a '100 percent Communist lunatic.'
'I am incredibly honored to be the DFL endorsed candidate for Minneapolis Mayor,' Fateh wrote to X following the endorsement.
'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.'
More than 1,000 party activists packed the Target Center on Saturday afternoon, where around 5pm, delegates cast their first mayoral endorsement votes via smartphone - launching a nearly two-hour vote tallying process by party officials.
The suspense was palpable as attendees wondered if Frey - who led the city through the turbulent 2020 Black Lives Matter protests - would succeed in blocking the first Somali-American Muslim to serve in the state's senate.
Mamdani's endorsement energized left-wing challengers, who celebrated the possibility of unseating Frey at the upcoming DFL convention - while others looked on with doubt and concern over the 'progressive uprising' in America's biggest cities.
The potential shift in the nation's political landscape was on full display at this weekend's convention. Frey's supporters began abandoning the arena at about 9pm in protest, just as the results came in - Fateh had secured the endorsement.
Not only did Fateh claim a seat at the mayoral table, but he also made history -becoming the Minneapolis DFL's first endorsement in a contested mayor's race since at least 1997, according to The Minnesota Star Tribune.
Fateh captured 43.8 percent of the roughly 577 delegate votes, while Frey trailed with 31.5 percent, as reported by Axios.
The socialist candidate ultimately secured over 60 percent of delegate votes at the convention, despite vocal complaints from the Frey campaign over the fairness of the process.
Chaos erupted as Frey's campaign officials challenged the results, claiming the party's online delegate voting system had allegedly malfunctioned - pointing to a suspiciously low number of recorded votes.
'This election should be decided by the entire city rather than the small group of people who became delegates, particularly in light of the extremely flawed and irregular conduct of this convention,' Frey campaign manager Sam Schulenberg said in a statement, according to the outlet.
'Voters will now have a clear choice between the records and leadership of Sen. Fateh and Mayor Frey. We look forward to taking our vision to the voters in November, he added.
Fateh has drawn increased attention following Mamdani's stunning - and surprising - victory over Cuomo in Manhattan's Democratic mayoral primary. Some have even dubbed him the 'Mamdani of Minneapolis,' according to the Star Tribune.
The parallels are hard to miss: both Fateh and Mamdani are in their 30s, Muslim, democratic socialists and state lawmakers focused on making their cities more affordable and equitable.
However, their rise in the political spotlight hasn't come without backlash - from both online critics and prominent, well-known faces.
Former New York Giants player Carter Coughlin launched a savage attack on Fateh following his endorsement on Sunday, claiming that his policies of rent control and raising minimum wage would set Minneapolis back years.
He also debated Fateh's credibility to become mayor with some of his followers.
'In a city that has endured unimaginable destruction and racial tension, these policies would set Minneapolis back another 10 steps,' Coughlin wrote. 'MPLS (Minneapolis) needs rebuilding, and this will do the opposite. Pray for wisdom.'
Nevertheless, Fateh took to the arena floor just after 10pm to claim victory, declaring, 'Today, we witnessed a rejection of politics as usual,' as reported by Axios.
We know the status quo are going to do anything and everything to maintain power, he added. 'They'll have all the money in the world - but they don't have you.'
Though the final decision won't come until November, one thing is clear: Minneapolis is signaling a readiness for change - and big cities could be sparking the start of a broader movement.
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