Frey wins third term as Minneapolis mayor after ranked-choice tally

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was declared the winner Wednesday after ranked choice ballots were reallocated, securing a third four year term by narrowly defeating state Senator Omar Fateh in the final round of a 15 candidate mayoral contest. Election officials said Frey achieved just over the 50 percent threshold with 50.03 percent of the vote, receiving 73,723 votes to Fateh’s 65,377, after second and subsequent choice rankings were tabulated.

Frey led the field after the first round with about 42 percent of first choice votes, followed by Fateh at roughly 32 percent. The Rev. DeWayne Davis and entrepreneur Jazz Hampton received about 14 percent and 10 percent, respectively. Under Minneapolis’ ranked choice system, candidates with the fewest votes are eliminated in successive rounds and their supporters’ next choices are transferred until one candidate surpasses 50 percent. City officials said more than 147,000 people cast ballots in the municipal race, a record for a Minneapolis municipal election, and turnout was about 55 percent of registered voters. The City Council is scheduled to certify the results next Monday.

Fateh, a Democratic state senator who identifies as a...