The Minnesota DFL vacated its endorsement of State Sen. Omar Fateh for Minneapolis mayor after a review panel found glaring flaws in the voting process.
A flurry of challenges were submitted to the state DFL in the wake of last month’s Minneapolis DFL Convention, pointing out issues with the electronic voting system and questioning whether a quorum was present for the final ballot that clinched Fateh’s endorsement over incumbent Jacob Frey.
The Minneapolis DFL also admitted it erroneously eliminated DeWayne Davis after the first round of voting due to an undercount of 176 votes.
“After a thoughtful and transparent review of the challenges, the Constitution, Bylaws & Rules Committee found substantial failures in the Minneapolis Convention’s voting process on July 19th, including an acknowledgement that a mayoral candidate was errantly eliminated from contention,” DFL Party Chairman Richard Carlbom said in a statement. “As a result, the Constitution, Bylaws & Rules Committee has vacated the mayoral endorsement.”
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Fateh’s short-lived endorsement was the first for a Minneapolis mayoral candidate in 16 years. The self-described democratic socialist quickly drew comparisons to Zohran Mamdani, who won New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary.
Now, Fateh’s campaign claims “establishment Democrats, including many Frey supporters,” coordinated an effort to throw out his endorsement.
“Our campaign sees this for what it is: disenfranchisement of thousands of Minneapolis caucus-goers and the delegates who represented all of us on convention day,” said Graham Faulkner, Fateh’s co-campaign manager. “The establishment is threatened by our message. They are scared of a politics that really stands up to corporate interests and with our working class neighbors.”
Frey’s campaign said the Minnesota DFL arrived at the right decision.
“I am proud to be a member of a party that believes in correcting our mistakes, and I am glad that this inaccurate and obviously flawed process was set aside,” Frey said. “I look forward to having a full and honest debate with Senator Fateh about our city’s future, with the outcome now resting squarely where it should — with all the people of Minneapolis.”
After its review, the DFL Constitution, Bylaws and Rules Committee (CBRC) also placed the Minneapolis DFL on probation for two years, requiring the chapter to “submit a best practices plan and a plan for compliance” to the DFL State Executive Committee.
A draft of the CBRC’s findings can be found here. The finalized report is expected to be released on Friday.
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