Mayor Jacob Frey boasts a significant cash advantage over Sen. Omar Fateh in the race for mayor of Minneapolis. According to campaign finance reports filed on Aug. 2, Frey has nearly $450,000 in cash-on-hand whereas Fateh reported just $54,000 in cash-on-hand.
Seeking his third term as mayor, Frey came into 2025 with just over $203,000 in the bank and has since raised $538,000. The mayor has received contributions from the Minnesota Local Business Alliance, Minneapolis Fire Fighters, several trade unions, the Pohlad family, and Don Samuels.
In a press release, the Frey campaign said it “broke the all-time fundraising record for any Minneapolis mayoral campaign through the August fundraising reporting period.” The campaign noted that a majority of its contributors are donors who gave $125 or less.
Conversely, Fateh came into 2025 with $35,000 in the bank and has since raised $213,000. The DFLer has received contributions from Minnesota’s chapter of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), members of the Minneapolis City Council, and State Sen. Doron Clark, DFL-Minneapolis.
Since Jan. 1, Frey has spent $292,000 on his reelection bid while Fateh has spent $190,000 in his mayoral effort.
At the moment, the 2025 Minneapolis mayoral election is viewed as a contest between Frey and Fateh. A former city councilor, Frey is serving his second term as mayor after winning the office in 2017 and 2021. Fateh is in his second term as a state senator.
Both candidates are decidedly left-wing, but Frey is viewed as more mainstream given his clashes with the far-left members of the Minneapolis City Council. Meanwhile, Fateh has drawn comparisons to Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City. Like Mamdani, Fateh is Muslim and aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America.
Last month, the Minneapolis DFL endorsed Fateh for mayor, but Frey has asked the state DFL Party to nullify that endorsement citing problems at the city’s convention. Since then, Fateh’s candidacy has brought significant national attention to the mayoral race.
Frey has received endorsements from Gov. Tim Walz, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt. Meanwhile, Fateh has been endorsed by a collection of state legislators and city officials, including swing-district Sens. Judy Seeberger, DFL-Afton, and Aric Putnam, DFL-St. Cloud.
The mayoral election, conducted via ranked-choice voting, is set for Nov. 4.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
