Jacob Frey (D) won the mayoral election in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Nov. 2. Seventeen candidates ran.
Voters could rank up to three candidates on the ballot under the city’s ranked choice voting system. Under that system, if no candidate receives a majority in the first round of tallying, candidates who mathematically cannot win are eliminated from the running and votes are redistributed to second and then third choices on those ballots. In the second round of tabulations, unofficial results showed Frey with 56.2% to Katherine Knuth’s 43.8%. Both Frey and Knuth ran as Democrats.
One of the biggest issues in the race, taking place the year after a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd, was policing. Frey opposed and Knuth supported a proposed charter amendment to replace the Minneapolis Police Department with a Department of Public Health. That amendment, Question 2, was defeated on Nov. 2 by 56.2% of voters, with 43.8% supporting it.
Frey has been in office since 2017. Frey said his administration “consistently supported a both-and approach to community-led public safety solutions beyond traditional policing, as well as working alongside Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) leadership to build a better and more accountable department.” He also campaigned on his record on affordable housing, what he called “racially equitable economic growth,” and climate issues.
Knuth is a former state representative. She filled out Ballotpedia’s Candidate survey, where she wrote, “Minneapolis is demanding a public safety system founded on one key value. Every person – regardless of race, gender, age, income, ability, or zip code – should be safe in our city. Voters are rightly asking for this vision and a concrete path toward it.” She also said the city needed an “unabashed climate justice champion” and new leadership.
Minneapolis also held elections for city council and other charter amendments. Click below for more on these elections.
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