Omar Fateh, a democratic socialist who is a candidate for the Mayor of Minneapolis, had his endorsement withdrawn by the Democratic Party officials in the state of Minnesota on Thursday.
The endorsement's revocation was due to "substantial failures" in the Minneapolis convention's voting process, with The New York Times report describing it as "marred by technological and procedural irregularities." Minneapolis Democratic Farmer Labor Party officials also admitted days earlier on Sunday that they failed to count all valid delegate votes at their convention last month, Axios reported.
Voters for current mayor Jacob Frey claim there were issues with the convention's electronic voting system last month, CNN reported. However, the report cited Minneapolis DFL Party officials saying that Frey supporters couldn't prove that any system breakdowns would impact the final delegate count.
“Our campaign sees this for what it is: disenfranchisement of thousands of Minneapolis caucus-goers and the delegates who represented all of us on convention day," sources quoted Fateh's campaign's co-manager as saying.
Frey responded to the party's revocation to endorse Fateh, saying that he "looks forward to having a full and honest debate with Senator Fateh about our city's future, with the outcome now resting squarely where it should — with all the people of Minneapolis."
Comparisons between Fateh and Mamdani
Fateh has been frequently compared to New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who has made headlines due to his anti-Israel positions, leading to accusations of antisemitism against him. Fateh had also initially won his party's endorsement to unseat Frey, who is also Jewish. Their progressive policies are considered a shift away from establishment Democrats.
In addition to being democratic socialists, the two are also Muslims with African roots.
Shira Li Bartov/JTA contributed to this report.