Over the past two months, Minneapolis DFL Party delegates met by wards to endorse City Council candidates. If a candidate is endorsed by the DFL Party, they are able to note that endorsement in their campaigning and have access to the DFL Party’s voter database, known as VAN. The DFL itself may promote the candidates on their own during campaigning for the 2023 election. Given that Minneapolis voters are overwhelmingly from the DFL Party, this endorsement is important to candidates. DFL delegates were chosen through a caucus process in March.
Ward 7
No candidate received the endorsement on May 21. Candidates need to receive 60% of the votes to be endorsed. When Ward 7 DFL delegates voted a second time during their convention on Sunday, Scott Graham received 52% with 159 votes, and Katie Cashman received 44% with 132 votes. The delegates voted to adjourn without an endorsement. Mark Globus is also running for City Council in Ward 7 and received seven votes.
Context: Current Ward 7 Councilmember Lisa Goodman is not seeking reelection. She was first elected to City Council in 1997.
Ward 8
Soren Stevenson was endorsed by DFL Party delegates on May 20 over Councilmember and current City Council President Andrea Jenkins. Stevenson received 68% percent of the vote, Jenkins received 29%. Jenkins has been a councilmember since 2018.
Context: This is the first time since Jenkins won her council seat that a progressive candidate has run against her. It is significant that a sitting City Council president has lost a DFL endorsement by a significant amount of votes. Jenkins is the first Black transgender woman elected to office in the United States. Both candidates said they would stay in the race regardless of the endorsement results.
Ward 10
Ward 10’s DFL convention is technically in recess after people associated with Nasri Warsame’s campaign stormed the stage when Councilmember Aisha Chughtai was about to give her nomination speech during the convention on May 13. Since the convention, the Minnesota DFL Party introduced new bylaws that ban candidates who incite or engage in violence. Given this bylaw, Warsame would be banned from being endorsed by the DFL Party.
Context: Warsame is a political newcomer. His campaign became public a day before the DFL caucus in March. The DFL Party has to reconvene the convention to make a decision on Ward 10’s endorsement.
Ward 11
Emily Koski was endorsed by DFL delegates over candidate Rebecca Donley on May 21. Koski received 85% of the vote with 183 votes, Donley 14% with 29 votes.
Context: This convention ran smoothly, which is significant given the hiccups seen at other conventions. Both candidates said they would stay in the race regardless of the endorsement results.
Ward 13
On April 1, City Council Vice President Linea Palmisano was endorsed by DFL delegates over candidate Kate Mortenson. Palmisano received 74% of the votes with 142 votes, Mortenson received 5 votes, and 46 people voted for no endorsement.
Context: This was the first DFL endorsement convention held on April 1. Both candidates said they would stay in the race regardless of the endorsement results.