Minnesota State Senator Omar Fateh has won the endorsement of the local Democratic Party in Minneapolis' race for mayor.
The endorsement came Saturday night. In a social media post, Fateh says he is incredibly honored to win the endorsement, calling it a mandate to build a city that works for everyone.
It's a somewhat surprising endorsement with fellow Democrat Jacob Frey, a two-time incumbent, running for re-election.
In a statement, Mayor Frey said that the election should be decided by an entire city, and not a small group of people.
Frey added that the convention where the endorsement came out was extremely flawed and irregular.
On Monday, WCCO Radio political analyst Blois Olson told Vineeta Sawkar on the WCCO Radio Morning News that Frey's campaign will challenge the endorsement to the state DFL party.
"It's not the first time the state DFL has had to deal with city DFL problems," notes Olson. "The election is in November. It's ranked choice. There'll be four or five contenders. So, we'll see kind of how the election plays out and if this endorsement actually means that the party will spend the resources."
Olson says Fateh's endorsement came after more than nine hours during Saturday's party convention and it was a flawed process.
"At the end of the day, the votes weren't being counted correctly," he added. "So they just went to raise your credential and then we'll decide whether or not people will be endorsed. "The Frey people had already left. So, I know Frye's campaign is going to challenge this to the state DFL."
Other declared candidates include DeWayne Davis (DFL), the chaplain of the Minnesota Senate, Howard Dotson (Independent) who is a healthcare chaplain, Kevin Dwire (Socialist Workers), busissman Jazz Hampton (DFL), financial clearance representative Brenda Short (DFL) and Laverne Turner (Republican), a consultant and candidate for mayor in 2021.