Minneapolis, NYC Mayoral Races Test Growing Power of Democratic Socialists

Candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America are gaining influence; critics warn voters about anti-capitalist policies.

(Left) Minneapolis mayoral candidate and state Sen. Omar Fateh (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski); (Right) Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Mayoral races in two major cities—Minneapolis and New York City—are spotlighting the growing influence of democratic socialists in America.

Minnesota state Sen. Omar Fateh is among more than a dozen candidates challenging Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a two-term Democrat who has been in office since 2018.

Fateh and the leading New York City mayoral candidate, state Rep. Zohran Mamdani, are members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which heralded them both as examples of “new energy” for its anti-capitalist movement.

Because of both men’s connections to the DSA, some refer to Fateh as “the Mini Mamdani.”

(Clockwise from top L) New York City mayoral candidates state Rep. Zohran Mamdani, New York City Mayor Eric Adams (who has dropped out of the race), former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images; Michael Loccisano/Getty Images; John Lamparski/AFP via Getty Images; Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

“But this isn’t just a ‘mini Mamdani’ race; it’s more consequential than that,” Andrew Parker, a longtime Minneapolis lawyer and political podcaster, told The Epoch Times.

Parker, 64, said no other city election in his lifetime has carried such significance—nationally and locally.

“Its implications cannot be overstated,” said Parker, a nationally recognized litigation attorney and free-speech advocate who has decades of legal and political experience.

Parker said the Nov. 4 mayoral and City Council races will determine whether the DSA gains a tighter grip on the Minneapolis city government and imposes more policies affecting the future of what he called “one of the most beautiful cities in the country"—a city that has been deteriorating, he said.

All 13 Minneapolis City Council seats are up for election this year. Well-organized, motivated DSA-backed candidates could easily grab many of those seats, especially if voter turnout is as low as usual, according to comments on a post by local blogger Terry White titled “The Undecided Voter.”

2020 Riots Reverberate

Public safety in the city is a top issue.

The police department has continued to struggle, even though five years have passed since rioting ripped through the city. Outrage over alleged racism and police brutality erupted after George Floyd, a 40-year-old black man, died in May 2020 following a videotaped struggle with Minneapolis police; a white officer, Derek Chauvin, was convicted of murder.

Frey’s leadership as mayor during the riots was criticized.

An independent review faulted his office for failing to enact the city’s emergency operations plan during the riots, which included looting and arson. Police were forced to evacuate their Third Precinct headquarters; rioters took over the building and set it ablaze, gutting it.

During the riots, firefighters responded to 133 structure fires, resulting in losses totaling $500 million, according to the review.

Protesters gather in front of a liquor store in flames near the Third Police Precinct in Minneapolis on May 28, 2020. Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images

Still, the mayor staved off a reelection challenge in 2021.

Since then, Frey has continued efforts to bolster the police force despite opposition from progressives. He earned an endorsement from Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt, as well as from the local firefighters’ union. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are also in his corner.

“I have stood up for what’s best for our city even when it was not politically expedient to do so. It’s time for us to love our city more than our ideology,” Frey said when he announced his 2025 campaign.

His top challenger, Fateh, pledges to enact police reforms that he says Frey “refused to attempt.”

Fateh said that he favors programs “to reduce crime that results from poverty, and lack of access to mental healthcare, housing, and public spaces.”

A son of immigrants from Somalia, Fateh calls himself “the first Somali American and the first Muslim to serve in the Minnesota Senate.” An outspoken congresswoman who was born in Somalia, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), has endorsed Fateh.

Rules of 3

Although the mayoral race is officially nonpartisan, the City Charter says candidates may use up to three words to name a political party or political principle on the ballot.

Fateh and Frey both listed Minnesota’s branch of the national Democratic Party, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL).

The DFL, which revoked its endorsement of Fateh in August because of vote-counting issues at its convention, did not respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment.

On the ballot, opponents of Fateh and Frey include several other DFL affiliates. Others listed political positions such as “Nobody’s Party,” “Protecting Tomorrow’s Dreams,” and “Why Not Wagner.”

None of the 15 hopefuls listed “Republican.” Sixty-eight years have passed since Minneapolitans elected a Republican mayor.

An Alaska Airlines airplane taxis on a runway at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport during the government shutdown, in Minneapolis on Oct. 29, 2025. Reuters/Tim Evans

Diane Napper, chair of the Minneapolis Republican Party, said that if voters elect a democratic socialist, citizens must brace for “severely negative impact” of failed policies such as “artificially increasing the minimum wage” and controlling rent amounts that landlords can charge.

“Socialism has killed millions of people throughout history, and yet people STILL think they will ‘get it right this time,’” Napper wrote in an email to The Epoch Times.

Napper predicted that socialist policies would lead to more job creators fleeing, thereby further eroding the tax base.

Napper also warned that “criminal illegals r­­e­­ceive protection if Minneapolis Police are not allowed to assist federal agents while enforcing federal law.”

The outcome of the Minneapolis mayoral race “could have a significant negative ripple effect across the country,” Napper wrote, “OR it could be a wake-up call to the nation to defeat socialism wherever it tries to rear its ugly head.”

If the race is tight, results could take a while to tabulate because the city uses “ranked-choice voting,” which allows voters to pick up to three candidates, ranked in order of preference.

“All first-choice votes are counted. If no candidate has the required number of votes to win, candidates that have the fewest votes are eliminated. This process continues until a candidate has enough votes to win,” the city election website explains. That threshold is 50 percent plus one in both the mayoral and City Council races.