Michael Rainville
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2022 - Present
2026
3
Michael Rainville is a member of the Minneapolis City Council in Minnesota, representing Ward 3. He assumed office on January 3, 2022. His current term ends on January 5, 2026.
Rainville (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the Minneapolis City Council to represent Ward 3 in Minnesota. He is on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025.[source]
Elections in Minneapolis are officially nonpartisan, but the Minneapolis City Charter allows mayoral and city council candidates to choose a party label to appear below their name on the official ballot. Ballotpedia includes candidates' party or principle to best reflect what voters will see on their ballot.[1]
2021 battleground election
The city of Minneapolis, Minnesota, held general elections for all 13 of its city council seats on November 2, 2021. Fifty-eight candidates—including eleven incumbents—ran in the elections. Minneapolis used ranked-choice voting in the election which allowed voters to rank up to three candidates on the ballot.
Of the 11 incumbents running for city council, six won re-election and five lost. All incumbents were Democrats except Cam Gordon, who ran as Green Party candidate. In the two open city council seats, Jason Chavez won in District 9 and Aisha Chughtai won in District 10.[2] As a result, seven of the 13 city councilmembers were newcomers in 2022. All winners were Democrats except for Robin Wonsley who was a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.[3]
On Nov. 12, 2021, Ward 2 candidate Yusra Arab announced she would seek a recount, which was scheduled for Nov. 19.[4] The initial post-election tally showed Arab trailing Robin Wonsley Worlobah by 19 votes in the third round of tallying.[5] On Nov. 22, the Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services announced that Worlobah remained the winner, with the margin decreasing to 14 votes.[6] To read more about recount laws in Minnesota, click here.
The Star Tribune's Kelly Smith described the city council and mayoral elections as microcosms of a more general rift in the Democratic Party, writing "[t]he split between moderate and progressive Democratic candidates ahead of the Nov. 2 election reflects a broader gap across Minnesota and nationwide as the Democratic establishment faces intense competition from a newly energized and insurgent progressive wing of the party."[7] Axios Twin Cities' Nick Halter also observed the rift, writing, "[t]he City Council has been moving to the left for several years now, and a slate of challengers [in Wards 3, 4, and 11] could move the needle back toward the middle."[8]
Following the election, Axios' Halter wrote that the council "that had been moving to the left in recent elections took a step back toward the right."[9] Halter identified the winners in Wards 3, 4, and 11 as more moderate than their predecessors and the winners in Wards 1 and 9 as more liberal, resulting in a net gain of one seat for moderate councilmembers.[9]
Elections in Minneapolis are officially nonpartisan, but the Minneapolis City Charter allows mayoral and city council candidates to choose a party label to appear below their name on the official ballot. Ballotpedia includes candidates' party or principle to best reflect what voters will see on their ballot.[10]
Of the 58 candidates who sought election, 42 were Democrats, four were Republicans, and 12 were independent or some other party. While 42 candidates identified as Democrats, the Minneapolis Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) issued its own official endorsements in seven wards. The party did not issue endorsements in six races, five of which featured incumbents. Learn more about the Minneapolis DFL endorsement process here.
Elections
2025
See also: City elections in Minneapolis, Minnesota (2025)
General election
The general election will occur on November 4, 2025.
General election for Minneapolis City Council Ward 3
Incumbent Michael Rainville and Marcus Mills are running in the general election for Minneapolis City Council Ward 3 on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | ||
| Michael Rainville (D) | ||
| Marcus Mills (Progressive Unity Independent) | ||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2023
See also: City elections in Minneapolis, Minnesota (2023)
General election
General election for Minneapolis City Council Ward 3
The ranked-choice voting election was won by Michael Rainville in round 1 .
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Total votes: 5,680 |
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
Endorsements
Rainville received the following endorsements.
2021
See also: City elections in Minneapolis, Minnesota (2021)
General election
General election for Minneapolis City Council Ward 3
The ranked-choice voting election was won by Michael Rainville in round 2 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.
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Total votes: 13,353 |
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
Campaign themes
2025
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Michael Rainville has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to Michael Rainville asking him to fill out the survey. If you are Michael Rainville, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.
Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?
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You can ask Michael Rainville to fill out this survey by using the button below or emailing info@rainvilleward3.org.
2023
Michael Rainville did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.
2021
Michael Rainville did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign website
- Click here to view an archived version of Rainville's campaign website.
See also
2025 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services, "FAQ: Can I list a political party affiliation or principle?", accessed August 16, 2021
- ↑ MinnPost, "2021 Election Results Dashboard," November 2, 2021
- ↑ Worlobah defeated Gordon, meaning the seat previously held by the Green Party's Gordon was won by the Democratic Socialists of America's Worlobah.
- ↑ KSTP, "Recount scheduled for Minneapolis City Council race separated by 19 votes," Nov. 15, 2021
- ↑ StarTribune, "Runner-up calls for recount in Minneapolis City Council Second Ward race," November 12, 2021
- ↑ Twitter, "Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services," Nov. 22, 2021
- ↑ StarTribune, "Minneapolis elections highlight divide between progressive, moderate Democrats," September 11, 2021
- ↑ Axios Twin Cities, "What the Ward 11 results will tell us about the future of Minneapolis," Oct. 13, 2021
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Axios Twin Cities, "Minneapolis City Council leans slightly moderate after 2021 election," Nov. 4, 2021
- ↑ Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services, "FAQ: Can I list a political party affiliation or principle?", accessed August 16, 2021
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Steve Fletcher |
Minneapolis City Council Ward 3 2022-Present |
Succeeded by - |
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