Ilhan Omar criticizes Minnesota DFL for revoking endorsement of Omar Fateh
The article reports that Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) condemned the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labour Party (DFL) for revoking its endorsement of Omar Fateh, a state senator and mayoral candidate in Minneapolis, just hours after initially endorsing him over incumbent Mayor jacob frey.Omar and over a dozen local DFL officials described the reversal as a “stain on our party” and expressed disappointment, highlighting that Fateh was the first Black candidate endorsed by the state Democratic Party for Minneapolis mayor in three decades. They criticized the decision as discouraging to voters and damaging to party unity, especially amid existing tensions between progressive and moderate Democrats. Issues at the Minneapolis DFL convention, including delegate vote capture failures and procedural delays, contributed to the party placing the local DFL on probation and demanding improvements. The incident underscores growing divides within the Democratic Party between progressive insurgents and establishment figures.
Ilhan Omar criticizes Minnesota DFL for revoking endorsement of Omar Fateh
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) criticized the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party on Thursday for revoking its endorsement of Omar Fateh for mayor of Minneapolis.
In a statement co-signed by over a dozen other local DFL elected officials, Omar called the reversal a “stain on our party.” The statement came just hours after the party walked back its endorsement of Fateh, a state senator who identifies as a socialist, over incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey.
The statement called it “extremely disheartening” that the first black Minneapolis mayoral candidate to be endorsed by the state Democratic Party in the last three decades had his endorsement walked back.
“The DFL Party is a big-tent party and all factions should be fairly represented, not silenced,” it read. “Minneapolis is the heart of the engine of Democratic turnout in our state. Undoubtedly, this appalling decision will leave many voters feeling discouraged and unwelcome from participating in our party.”
The statement said the move “will undermine the DFL endorsing process going forward and fails to center the will of delegates.”
Minneapolis DFL organizers said they failed to capture about 200 delegate votes during the July convention in the city, according to Axios. That failure did not directly lead to Fateh’s win, but it did eliminate another candidate, DeWayne Davis, before the second ballot when Fateh’s win became clear.
The voting system failure led to lengthy delays at the nominating convention, with Frey’s supporters abandoning it at one point. Fateh was later declared the convention’s winner when other candidates’ supporters had left, but it essentially amounted to a show of hands.
The state party additionally put the Minneapolis DFL on a two-year probation and will require local officials to submit improvement plans.
The state party’s move to revoke its endorsement for Fateh could create more tension between the DFL’s centrist members and the state party’s more progressive members, a trend emerging at the national level for Democrats.
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Progressive candidates have made inroads in mayoral elections in recent weeks, including Fateh and Zohran Mamdani’s win in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary. Neither has seen large-scale support from the Democratic Party.
The statement from Omar and other Minnesota Democrats also noted “right now, there is a clear tension between the progressive Democrats who are challenging the status quo and moderate Democrats.”
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