'Stain on our party': Ilhan Omar rebukes Dems after endorsement tossed

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) issued a fearsome rebuke to her state's Democratic Party on Thursday, calling its decision to rescind its endorsement of democratic socialist state Rep. Omar Fateh for mayor of Minneapolis "inexcusable."

In what supporters called "a rejection of politics as usual," Fateh was elected last month by delegates at the Minneapolis convention for the Democrats, known in Minnesota as the Democratic Farmer-Labor Party, to receive the party's endorsement for mayor over the well-funded two-term incumbent Jacob Frey.

The convention was marred by chaos after a malfunction in the electronic voting system. The final tally of the 577 counted votes had Fateh with 43.8% of the vote and Frey with 31.5%. On the second ballot, which was conducted through a show of hands due to the system failure, Fateh was elected overwhelmingly after Frey told his delegates to leave the convention.

A party investigation initiated after a complaint from Frey found that the malfunction resulted in 176 ballots in the first round of voting being uncounted, which denied the entry of a third candidate, DeWayne Davis, onto the second ballot.

However, these irregularities did not affect the second vote, which is what resulted in Fateh receiving the endorsement.

Nevertheless, DFL announced Thursday that it had "vacated" Fateh's nomination, citing what it said were "substantial failures in the convention's voting process."

As a result, access to party voter rolls, which usually only go to the candidate endorsed by the DFL, will now be given to everyone, which could considerably hurt Fateh's chances of unseating Frey.

Joined by over a dozen other DFL state and local officials, Ilhan Omar issued a statement condemning the party's decision.

"Last month, thousands of caucus-goers and delegates across Minneapolis gathered to participate in the Minneapolis DFL Convention," Omar said. "Now, a month later, a small group of DFL board members, a majority living outside Minneapolis, met privately to overturn the will of Minneapolis delegates who volunteered, organized, and participated in a monthslong DFL process."

"It is inexcusable to overturn the results weeks after the convention because board members did not like the outcome," Omar continued. "Not only does this decision set an extremely dangerous precedent, but it will undermine the DFL endorsing process going forward and fail to center the will of delegates."

"Fateh is getting screwed," said Zach Lindstrom, the mayor of the St. Paul suburb of Mounds View, who served as the sergeant-at-arms during the convention.

"It was clear, crystal clear, Fateh had the vast majority of support in the room; his supporters filled two entire sections. Frey's didn't even fill one," he continued. "I saw with my own eyes someone who clearly had the room, and for him to get rugged is just another reason the party approval is at an all-time low and hemorrhaging support."

Fateh, who won his state Senate seat in 2020, has found success with a campaign that followed in the footsteps of insurgent New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.

His message has likewise focused on affordability, including pushing for the city to introduce rent controls and investments in affordable housing paid for by increased taxes on wealthy residents. He has also called for the city to raise its minimum wage to $20 an hour.

Fateh has also said that the city's overwhelmed police department should divert many calls to "non-police responders" better trained to handle issues related to mental health, homelessness, and drug use.

Fateh ran as a harsh critic of the Democratic establishment that he says is personified by Frey.

In past elections, Frey has received substantial support from the real estate and restaurant industries. While information about his fundraising in 2025 is incomplete, the Minnesota Star Tribunereported earlier this month that, despite having fewer individual donors, Frey had amassed a war chest of over $539,000, eight times the size of Fateh's.

One group that fiercely contested Fateh's nomination was the We Love Minneapolis PAC, which has been accused of illegally coordinating expenditures with the Frey campaign in violation of campaign finance laws. Fateh has accused the PAC and others supporting Frey of being organs of "wealthy donors."

After the DFL stripped his endorsement, Fateh said in a video that "28 party insiders voted to take away our endorsement behind closed doors," and asserted that the insiders included "non-Minneapolis residents, Mayor Frey supporters, and even donors."

"This is exactly what Minneapolis voters are sick of," Fateh continued. "The insider games, the backroom decisions, and feeling like our voice doesn't matter in our own city."

Ilhan Omar says the DFL's decision demonstrated the "clear tension between the progressive Democrats who are challenging the status quo and moderate Democrats."

"Throughout this mayoral campaign, we have seen the influence of big money in our politics," she continued. "We know organized people beat organized money. Fateh's campaign organized and won the endorsement. This decision will be a stain on our party for years to come and damage our ability to organize for Democratic wins this year, next year, and beyond."