Southwest voters turned out in large numbers to help re-elect Mayor Jacob Frey following unprecedented campaign spending and voter turnout. Southwest voters showed a mix in electing new and returning council members, Park & Recreation Board commissioners, and Board of Estimate and Taxation members to serve the area for the next four years.  

Ward 13 had the highest voter turnout with 16,918 voters, which is 67.5% of registered voters. Ward 12 saw the most voters of any ward with 17,168 voters which was 66% of the registered voters in that ward.

Citywide voters broke 2021’s record for highest turnout in a Minneapolis municipal election. This year, 147,702 voters (55% of registered voters) cast their ballot. In 2021, it was 145,337 voters (54% of registered voters), a difference of 2,365 voters.

Campaign spending may also end up setting a record of its own with the influx of the independent expenditure political committees, that are allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to support or oppose candidates of their choosing.

According to the City’s campaign finance reports, campaign committee expenditures alone totaled just over $3.3 million as of Oct. 20. Frey’s campaign was the top spender at $1 million, spending twice as much as any other individual campaign. A final report on what campaigns and independent committees spent is due in December.

The independent expenditure group, All of Mpls, spent $1.2 million overall in 2025 according to paperwork filed with the State on Oct. 27. Most of its spending went to support Frey and to oppose or support certain council candidates based on their perceived alignment with him.

Two other pro-Frey independent expenditure groups were We Love Mpls, which reported spending $121,823 and Thrive Mpls, which reported spending $72,000.

Comparatively, Minneapolis for the Many, spent $278,500 in support of three candidates running against Frey and several candidates running for City Council as of Oct. 23.

Mayor’s Race

Southwest Minneapolis voters turned out in big numbers for Frey, who was elected the winner citywide with 73,232 final-round votes (50.03%) in the City’s ranked choice vote tabulation. Sen. Omar Fateh received 65,377 final-round votes (44.47%), a difference of 7,855 votes. Rev. DeWayne Davis and Jazz Hampton’s votes were not counted in the final round.

Hampton received more votes than Fateh in Ward 13, though. In Ward 13 alone, Frey received 10,451 first-choice votes to 2,295 for Jazz Hampton, 2,080 for Omar Fateh, and 1,860 for DeWayne Davis.

When looking at the overall vote totals, Hampton received a large amount of votes citywide (81,508 people voted for him somewhere on their ballot), but not enough voters ranked him first choice to keep him from being eliminated in the first round.

Frey also won by smaller, but still large margins in Wards 7 and 11 that include large parts of Southwest. In Ward 7, he won 7,198 votes compared to Fateh’s 3,317, and in Ward 11, he had 7,005 first-choice votes to Fateh’s 2,577.

Southwest was not united in its first choice winners. Fateh won Ward 10 with 5,744 first-choice votes to Frey’s 2,957 votes. In Ward 8 Fateh had 4,295 first-choice votes to Frey’s 3,922.

In Wards 13, 11 and 7 alone Frey received 24,654 first-choice votes, which makes up 40.1% of his citywide first-choice votes. Those three wards make up only 23% of the city's population.

City Council Races

Southwest elected three new councilmembers in Wards 7, 8, and 11 with incumbents reelected in Wards 10 and 13.

Ward 7 voters chose to elect Park and Recreation Board member Elizabeth Shaffer, ousting Katie Cashman after a two-year term.

Shaffer won with 6,709 first-choice votes (52.1%) to Cashman’s 5,909 votes (49.9%), a difference of 800 votes.

“While we’re disappointed by the direction representation is going in our ward, we are very proud of the people-powered election and grassroots campaign that we ran, in coalition with so many leaders across Minneapolis,” Cashman said in a statement the day after the election.

Shaffer posted on Facebook the night of the election, “This victory belongs to the incredible team and volunteers who knocked on doors, made calls, and believed in the vision for a stronger, more connected Minneapolis.”

Shaffer raised $248,400, per the City of Minneapolis campaign finance data, more than any other council campaign. All of Mpls, spent $92,000 on supporting her campaign, per a State receipts and expenditures report.

Cashman raised $119,400 and Minneapolis for the Many, an opposing PAC of All of Mpls, contributed $23,300 in support of her campaign. All of Mpls spent $7,600 against her.

Raising more money did not pan out for Lydia Millard who lost to Council Vice President Aisha Chughtai in a bid to lead Ward 10. Chughtai won with 6,358 first-choice votes (58.76%) to Millard’s 4,011 first-choice votes (37.07%).

Millard raised $171,00 and All of Mpls spent $66,200 to support Millard. Minneapolis for the Many spent $8,900 against her.

Chughtai raised $62,500 and Minneapolis for the Many spent $22,500 in support of her campaign. All of Mpls spent $23,900 against Chughtai.

Ward 8 and 11 will both see new councilmembers. The incumbents, Ward 8 Councilmember Andrea Jenkins and Ward 11 Councilmember Emily Koski, did not seek reelection.  

In Ward 8, Soren Stevenson won with 6,685 (56.25%) first-choice votes over Josh Bassais with 4,594 first-choice votes (38.66%).

Sorenson benefited from a $5,301 investment from Minneapolis for the Many. All of Mpls reported spending $23,715 to support Bassais, another race where raising more money did not result in a winning campaign.

In Ward 11 Jamison Whiting was elected with 8,436 first-choice votes (62.57%) to Mariam DeMello’s 3,887 (28.83%).

Ward 13 Council Member Linnea Palmisano was re-elected with 14,954 first-choice votes (94.38%) over Bob Carney with 630 first-choice votes (3.98%).

Park & Recreation Board

The three Park & Recreation Board at-Large, or citywide, commissioner seats went to two incumbents, Meg Forney and Tom Olsen and one newcomer, Amber Fredrickson.

Olsen and Forney live in Southwest and Fredrickson lives on the Northside. Forney was the only elected at-large commissioner who was not endorsed by the Democratic Farmer Labor, or DFL, party.  

“I am grateful for the solid support in being re-elected,” Forney said.  “I am looking forward to working with this next board to pro-actively govern together.”

In Park Board District 4, where Elizabeth Schaffer did not seek reelection, Jason Garica won with 10,142 votes (51.5%) on the second round of vote tabulation despite being outspent by Jeanette Colby ($12,235 to $1,569), being hospitalized for part of the campaign season and not using lawn signs.

“I feel that I’m a non-traditional candidate, so it was fitting to have a non-traditional campaign,” Garcia said.“It was truly a community effort. My neighbors, supporters, and fellow candidates really helped carry me while I was in the hospital and unable to campaign myself. The importance of a community having your back like that cannot be overstated.”

In District 6, current Park & Recreation Board President Cathy Abene won reelection with 17,746 first-choice votes (65.16%). Ira Jourdain, a former Minneapolis Public Schools board member, received 9,399 votes (34.51%).

“I really appreciate people putting their trust in me,” Cathy Abene said on her reelection. “People didn’t need a change over here in District 6.”

Board of Estimate and Taxation

The Board of Estimate and Taxation race received an uptick in votes this year, with a 9.43% increase in people voting for the down ballot race. Latecomer to the race, Eric Harris Bernstein, received the most votes with 42,771 final-round votes (40.16%), who will join the board with reelected Steve Brandt who received 35,911 votes (33.7%). Bob Fine, even with a DFL endorsement, lost with 27,445 votes (25.7% votes).

“I am thrilled to have received so many votes,” Bernstein said. “I believe it reflects the popularity of a positive message about the future we can build when we work together and care for the investments we make through our city budget and property taxes.”

All elected candidates will be sworn into office in January 2026. For more information on election results, visit the City's election results webpage.