A Minnesota Mamdani? A Race for Mayor Has Echoes, but Only So Far.
He’s a young democratic socialist with an immigrant story, a Muslim mayoral candidate who defeated the Democratic establishment in a recent intraparty contest.
On the left and the right, the comparison has been irresistible: State Senator Omar Fateh of Minnesota, the argument goes, could be Minneapolis’s version of Zohran Mamdani, the left-wing assemblyman from Queens whose victory in New York City’s mayoral primary last month sent shock waves through the Democratic Party.
“From NYC to Minneapolis — change is coming!” declared the Twin Cities chapter of Democratic Socialists of America last weekend, after Mr. Fateh received the endorsement of the Minneapolis chapter of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, Minnesota’s version of the Democratic Party, at a chaotic gathering last weekend.
The endorsement passed over Mayor Jacob Frey, 44, a two-term incumbent who has clashed with more left-wing members of the City Council. Mr. Frey’s re-election campaign is among those challenging the D.F.L.’s endorsement.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/23/us/politics/omar-fateh-minneapolis-mayor-mamdani.html