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Omar Fateh
Omar Fateh (Democratic Party) is a member of the Minnesota State Senate, representing District 62. He assumed office on January 5, 2021. His current term ends on January 5, 2027.
Fateh is running for election for Mayor of Minneapolis 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]
Biography
Omar Fateh was born in Washington, D.C., and lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[2] Fateh graduated from Falls Church High School. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in public administration from George Mason University. Fateh's career experience includes working as a campaign finance analyst for the Federal Election Commission and as an academic advisor with Northern Virginia Community College.[2][3]
2025 battleground election
Ballotpedia identified the November 4, 2025, general election as a battleground election. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.
Incumbent Jacob Frey (D), Omar Fateh (D), and 13 other candidates are running in the nonpartisan general election for mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 4, 2025.
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.[4]
Frey was first elected in 2017, defeating incumbent Betsy Hodges (D) in the fifth round of ranked-choice voting. Frey, a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), says he is a pragmatic progressive.[5] He says, "I’m running because with everything going on in the world, experience matters. ... I have stood up for what’s best for our city even when it was not politically expedient to do so. It’s time for us to love our city more than our ideology. Together, we can make Minneapolis a national model for progressive governance that is laser-focused not on politics, but on delivering for residents."[6]
Fateh is also a DFL member who also says he is a democratic socialist. He was elected to the Minnesota Senate, representing District 62, in 2020. Fateh says, "We deserve leadership that makes it so people want to continue to live here, raise families here, and start businesses here. ... We need a Mayor who understands that a city that lifts up working people is a city that lifts up everyone. Because when the city invests in us, we have more time to invest in the people we love."[7]
While the city's mayor has been a DFL member since 1978, the election has highlighted divisions within the larger party, primarily between Fateh's democratic socialists and Frey's democrats.[8] On July 19, 2025, the Minneapolis DFL endorsed Fateh at a convention, which Fox 9's Kilat Fitzgerald said included the party's "symbolic vote of confidence, as well as volunteer power, to put toward [Fateh's] efforts to win the race."[9] This was the first time the Minneapolis DLF endorsed a mayoral candidate since 2009, as an endorsement requires a candidate to win at least 60% of delegates.[10]
Frey's supporters challenged the endorsement process, alleging there were issues with the electronic voting system. The statewide DFL reviewed the challenges and revoked the endorsement on August 21, 2025. Fateh said, "Twenty-eight party insiders voted to take away our endorsement behind closed doors. This group was composed of non-Minneapolis residents, Mayor Frey supporters, and even donors. This is exactly what Minneapolis voters are sick of: the insider games, the backroom decisions, and feeling like our voice doesn't matter in our own city."[11] Frey said, "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."[5]
Party divisions predate Fateh's revoked endorsement. Following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, the Democratic city council disagreed with Frey on police reform, specifically on defunding the police.[12][13] According to the MinnPost, "A coalition of Minneapolis candidates fueled by left-wing energy and skepticism of the status quo at City Hall secured a majority on the City Council [during the 2023] municipal elections, winning seven of 13 seats."[14] As of September 9, 2025, five of the seven progressive councilmembers endorsed Fateh, as well as one councilmember, Jamal Osman (D), who was not aligned with either the seven progressive councilmembers or councilmembers who typically support Frey. Three councilmembers who typically support Frey endorsed him.[15][16]
Also running in the general are Andrea Revel, Troy Peterson, Kevin Ward, Xavier Pauke, Adam Terzich, Kevin A. Dwire, Charlie McCloud, Alejandro Richardson, Laverne Turner, Jeffrey Wagner, DeWayne Davis, Jazz Hampton, and Brenda Short.
Minneapolis uses ranked-choice voting to elect city officials. Voters can rank up to three mayoral candidates on their ballots. Click here to learn more about how ranked-choice voting works in this election.
Minneapolis has a strong mayor-council system. The city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor is considered the city's chief executive.[17][18]
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
Fateh was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee, Chair
- Health and Human Services Finance and Policy Committee, Vice Chair
- Local Government Committee
2021-2022
Fateh was assigned to the following committees:
- Human Services Licensing Policy Committee (decommissioned)
- Human Services Reform Finance and Policy Committee (decommissioned)
- State Government Finance and Policy and Elections Committee (decommissioned)
- Technology and Reform Policy Committee (decommissioned), Ranking Minority Member
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2025
See also: Mayoral election in Minneapolis, Minnesota (2025)
General election
The general election will occur on November 4, 2025.
General election for Mayor of Minneapolis
The following candidates are running in the general election for Mayor of Minneapolis on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | ||
![]() | Jacob Frey (Nonpartisan) | |
Andrea Revel (For the People Party) | ||
Troy Peterson (Momunist Party) | ||
Kevin Ward (Nobody's Party) | ||
Xavier Pauke (Protecting Tomorrow's Dreams) | ||
Adam Terzich (Renaissance Party) | ||
Kevin A. Dwire (Socialist Workers Party) | ||
Charlie McCloud (Unaffiliated) | ||
Alejandro Richardson (Unaffiliated) | ||
![]() | Laverne Turner (Unaffiliated) | |
Jeffrey Wagner (Why Not Wagner) | ||
DeWayne Davis (Nonpartisan) | ||
![]() | Omar Fateh (Nonpartisan) | |
![]() | Jazz Hampton (Nonpartisan) | |
![]() | Brenda Short (Nonpartisan) |
![]() | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Emily Koski (Nonpartisan)
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from RealClearPolitics, when available. We will regularly check for polling aggregation for this race and add polls here once available. To notify us of polls available for this race, please email us.
Election campaign finance
Candidates in this election submitted campaign finance reports to the City of Minneapolis. Click here to access those reports.
Satellite spending
- See also: Satellite spending
Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[19][20][21]
If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.
Endorsements
Fateh received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.
- Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota
- Minnesota Association of Professional Employees
- Unite Here! Local 17 Minnesota's Hospitality Union
- Twin Cities Democratic Socialists of America
2022
See also: Minnesota State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Minnesota State Senate District 62
Incumbent Omar Fateh defeated Andrew Schmitz in the general election for Minnesota State Senate District 62 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Omar Fateh (D) | 90.3 | 24,271 |
Andrew Schmitz (R) | 9.4 | 2,528 | ||
Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 84 |
Total votes: 26,883 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Minnesota State Senate District 62
Incumbent Omar Fateh defeated Shaun Laden in the Democratic primary for Minnesota State Senate District 62 on August 9, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Omar Fateh | 60.7 | 7,416 |
Shaun Laden | 39.3 | 4,811 |
Total votes: 12,227 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Minnesota State Senate District 62
Andrew Schmitz advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota State Senate District 62 on August 9, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | Andrew Schmitz | 100.0 | 301 |
Total votes: 301 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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Campaign finance
2020
See also: Minnesota State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for Minnesota State Senate District 62
Omar Fateh defeated Bruce Lundeen in the general election for Minnesota State Senate District 62 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Omar Fateh (D) | 89.0 | 33,103 |
![]() | Bruce Lundeen (R) | 10.6 | 3,947 | |
Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 150 |
Total votes: 37,200 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Minnesota State Senate District 62
Omar Fateh defeated incumbent Jeff Hayden in the Democratic primary for Minnesota State Senate District 62 on August 11, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Omar Fateh | 54.9 | 11,109 |
Jeff Hayden | 45.1 | 9,140 |
Total votes: 20,249 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Minnesota State Senate District 62
Bruce Lundeen advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota State Senate District 62 on August 11, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Bruce Lundeen | 100.0 | 443 |
Total votes: 443 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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Campaign finance
2018
General election
General election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 62A
Hodan Hassan defeated Bruce Lundeen in the general election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 62A on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | Hodan Hassan (D) | 90.4 | 13,107 | |
![]() | Bruce Lundeen (R) | 8.8 | 1,281 | |
Other/Write-in votes | 0.8 | 113 |
Total votes: 14,501 (100.00% precincts reporting) | ||||
![]() | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 62A
Hodan Hassan defeated Osman Ahmed, Omar Fateh, Margarita Ortega, and Jen Kader in the Democratic primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 62A on August 14, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | Hodan Hassan | 28.4 | 2,207 | |
Osman Ahmed | 20.7 | 1,607 | ||
![]() | Omar Fateh | 20.6 | 1,602 | |
Margarita Ortega | 19.7 | 1,531 | ||
Jen Kader | 10.6 | 822 |
Total votes: 7,769 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 62A
Bruce Lundeen advanced from the Republican primary for Minnesota House of Representatives District 62A on August 14, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Bruce Lundeen | 100.0 | 218 |
Total votes: 218 | ||||
![]() | ||||
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2015
The Fairfax County School Board is a 12-member board elected to serve four-year terms. Three seats are elected at large and nine seats are elected by district.[22] All 12 seats were on the ballot on November 3, 2015.
At-large incumbents Ryan McElveen, Ilryong Moon and Ted Velkoff faced Robert Copeland, Omar Fateh, Jeanette Hough, Manar Jean-Jacques, Peter Marchetti and Burnette Scarboro for three seats. While Moon and McElveen won re-election, Velkoff was defeated, placing fourth to challenger Hough.
Braddock District incumbent Megan McLaughlin, Hunter Mill District incumbent Pat Hynes and Providence District incumbent Patricia Reed faced Katherine Pettigrew, Mark Wilkinson and Dalia Palchik, respectively. Dranesville District incumbent Jane Strauss competed against challenger Peter Kurzenhauser. McLaughlin, Hynes, and Strauss won re-election; the fourth incumbent, Reed, lost to Palchik.
The races for both the Mount Vernon District and Sully District seats featured newcomers after neither incumbent filed for re-election. Karen Corbett Sanders defeated W. Anthony Stacy in the Mount Vernon race, while Karen Keys-Gamarra lost to Thomas Wilson in the Sully District race. Lee District incumbent Tamara Derenak Kaufax, Mason District incumbent Sandra Evans and Springfield District incumbent Elizabeth Schultz all ran unopposed and won re-election to their seats.
Results
Fairfax County School Board, At-large, General Election, 2015 | ||
---|---|---|
Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
![]() |
17.2% | 84,364 |
![]() |
17.0% | 83,160 |
![]() |
16.3% | 80,035 |
Ted Velkoff Incumbent | 15.3% | 74,948 |
Robert Copeland | 15.2% | 74,454 |
Manar Jean-Jacques | 11.6% | 57,043 |
Peter Marchetti | 2.6% | 12,809 |
Omar Fateh | 2.3% | 11,062 |
Burnette Scarboro | 2.2% | 10,676 |
Write-in votes | 0.3% | 1,458 |
Total Votes | 490,009 | |
Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "2015 November General", accessed November 3, 2015 |
Funding
Fateh reported $12,662.43 in contributions and $2,008.66 in expenditures to the Virginia State Board of Elections, which left his campaign with $10,653.77 on hand as of October 28, 2015.[23]
Endorsements
Fateh received an official endorsement for his campaign from the Fairfax Education Association PAC.[24]
Campaign themes
2025
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
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You can ask Omar Fateh to fill out this survey by using the buttons below or emailing info@omarfateh.org.
2022
Omar Fateh did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Omar Fateh did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2015
Candidate website
Fateh's campaign website listed the following themes for 2015:
“ |
As an At-Large Member of the School Board, my primary goal would be to more responsively serve the actual members of the entire community—from students and their families to teachers and staff—and to meet all of their diverse needs. I would seek, in particular, to provide more substantive representation to the County’s under-served populations, including minority students, disadvantaged students, and students with special needs, among others. In doing this, I would hope to make the County’s Student Achievement Goals realities for each and every student. In order to make this possible, I’ll have to focus on three main areas: Expanding Community Engagement Many members of the community are unaware of what the School Board is or who their representatives are on the Board. We must be sensitive to the fact that the families of our diverse county face different realities, which obligates the School Board to reach out to parents on their terms. By effectively communicating with parents, students, and teachers to better understand their specific needs, we will be better equipped to serve the whole of the County, including the traditionally underrepresented communities. As a Board member, I will also make it a priority to tap into the area’s valuable resources to benefit our students and the community as a whole. I will work to expand public-private partnerships, improving relationships with civic organizations, community leaders, as well as the Board of Supervisors. Addressing the Needs of the Full Range of Students For far too long, our low-income and minority students have fallen victim to the achievement gap, often from as early as before kindergarten. The county’s African-American and Latino student populations continually score between 20 and 25 percentage points lower than their peers on Math and Science SOL tests. Even worse, in my time as a college academic advisor, I witnessed countless students—even those with advanced test scores—enter college unprepared, some finding themselves placed in remedial Math and English courses, as well as starting their academic careers unsure of their strengths, passions and potential paths. I will work to provide students the support and resources they need to be better prepared to succeed in today’s ever-globalizing, modernizing economy, identifying their interests and potential career paths in an all-out effort to close the achievement gap. Equitably Managing the County’s Rapid Growth Working within the constraints of our County’s budget, I’ll seek to ensure that all students are provided with the necessary environments in which to learn, the best possible resources, and the most-qualified and fairly compensated teachers. I’ll treat our students and their educations as an investment rather than an expense, working more collaboratively with the community and its leaders, including the Board of Supervisors, to fairly and fully address the most pressing needs. As a School Board Member, I will put students first, investing in early childhood education, providing additional resources to those students who are the most at risk to fall victim to the achievement gap, and providing a stable and safe environment in the face of overcrowding and cost-cutting.[25] |
” |
—Omar Fateh, (2015)[26] |
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Minnesota scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the Minnesota State Legislature was in session from February 12 to May 20.
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2023
To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Minnesota State Legislature was in session from January 3 to May 22.
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2022
To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the Minnesota State Legislature was in session from January 31 to May 23.
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2021
To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Minnesota State Legislature was in session from January 5 to May 17.
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See also
2025 Elections
External links
Candidate Mayor of Minneapolis |
Officeholder Minnesota State Senate District 62 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ City of Minneapolis, "Common questions about filing for office," accessed September 10, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Facebook, "Omar Fateh," accessed January 22, 2021
- ↑ Fateh for School Board, "About," accessed October 14, 2015
- ↑ City of Minneapolis, "Common questions about filing for office," accessed September 10, 2025
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 CNN Politics, "Minnesota Democrats revoke endorsement of democratic socialist candidate for Minneapolis mayor," August 21, 2025
- ↑ Jacob Frey Mayor of Minneapolis, "News," January 29, 2025
- ↑ Omar Fateh for Minneapolis Mayor, "Why I’m Running for Mayor of Minneapolis," accessed September 9, 2025
- ↑ Mayor's Office, "Past and Present Mayors of Minneapolis," accessed September 9, 2025
- ↑ Fox 9, "State Sen. Omar Fateh endorsed for mayor by Minneapolis DFL," July 20, 2025
- ↑ The Minnesota Star Tribune, "Will the Minneapolis DFL endorse a democratic socialist for mayor? It could happen Saturday." July 17, 2025
- ↑ Instagram, "omarfatehmn," August 21, 2025
- ↑ The Minnesota Star Tribune, "Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey plans to run for re-election, and others might challenge him," November 4, 2024
- ↑ The Downballot, "Morning Digest: One of next year's top races for mayor is already a contentious affair," December 3, 2024
- ↑ Minnpost, "Left-wing coalition makes gains in Minneapolis City Council election," November 8, 2023
- ↑ Jacob Frey Mayor of Minneapolis, "Endorsements," accessed September 9, 2025
- ↑ Omar Fateh for Minneapolis Mayor, "Endorsements," accessed September 9, 2025
- ↑ City of Minneapolis, "Roles of Mayor and City Council," accessed March 11, 2022
- ↑ City of Minneapolis, "Government structure," accessed March 11, 202
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," December 12, 2021
- ↑ Fairfax County Public Schools, "School Board: Overview," May 14, 2015
- ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, "Campaign Finance Reports," accessed October 27, 2015
- ↑ Inside NoVA, "Fairfax Education Association PAC makes political endorsements," September 10, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Fateh for School Board, "Issues," accessed October 14, 2015
Political offices | ||
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Preceded by Jeff Hayden (D) |
Minnesota State Senate District 62 2021-Present |
Succeeded by - |
|