Left-wing Minnesota Sen. Omar Fateh officially announced his campaign for Minneapolis mayor Monday.
“From the streets to City Hall, Minneapolis is full of people with big ideas. But we don’t have a mayor ready to invest in the long-term solutions that bring security to our communities,” Fateh said in his announcement video.
Fateh was first elected to the Minnesota Senate in 2020 after defeating then-incumbent Sen. Jeff Hayden in the Democratic primary. Representing Senate District 62, Fateh is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. He supported a 2021 effort to replace the Minneapolis Police Department with a new “department of public safety.” That ballot amendment was rejected overwhelmingly by Minneapolis voters.
Fateh’s short career in politics has been marked by various controversies, including his receipt of $11,000 in campaign contributions from individuals connected to the Feeding Our Future scandal. Fateh said he returned the donations. Current Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey received $9,000 in campaign donations from Feeding Our Future defendants.
In 2022, Fateh’s brother-in-law was convicted of lying to a grand jury about his handling of absentee ballots during Fateh’s 2020 primary campaign, Sahan Journal reported.
Fateh was also the subject of a Senate ethics investigation and ordered to participate in campaign finance training after failing to disclose $1,000 in campaign payments to Somali TV Minnesota.
More recently, a Senate ethics complaint was filed against Fateh for comments he made on the Senate floor suggesting that his Republican colleagues look like “violent extremists” who “advocate for the superiority of the white race.”
The state senator was also a leading proponent of a failed effort to make Minnesota a sanctuary state for illegal immigrants.
Mayor Frey, a Democrat in his second term, has indicated that he will run for reelection.
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
