Will the Minneapolis DFL endorse a democratic socialist for mayor? It could happen Saturday.

The Minneapolis DFL could be on the verge of endorsing a democratic socialist for mayor.

On Saturday, more than 1,000 party activists will gather at Target Center to rally, argue and haggle over the party’s symbolic-but-important seal of approval for this fall’s mayoral election.

According to insiders, the suspense is whether state Sen. Omar Fateh, a democratic socialist, will win the endorsement, or whether two-term Mayor Jacob Frey will succeed in blocking Fateh, resulting in the party issuing no endorsement.

Only one mayoral candidate has won the Minneapolis Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party endorsement since 1997: R.T. Rybak, who was endorsed in 2009. The endorsement carries no legal weight, but it’s still coveted in the overwhelmingly Democratic city and can open party resources to a candidate who wins the endorsement.

A candidate must win the support of 60% of delegates in order to be endorsed, and mayoral candidates have struggled to reach that threshold in Minneapolis. About 800 delegates will vote on endorsements for mayor, park board and and the tax-setting Board of Estimate and Taxation as the November election approaches.

The fact that the two-day convention has been squeezed into one makes it less likely that anyone will be endorsed for mayor, due to time constraints: They must adjourn by 10 p.m.

Minneapolis DFL Chair John Maraist said he expects several rounds of voting and said “an endorsement is possible” for mayor.

“It depends on the delegates,” he said. “You never know how the delegates are gonna break.”

There are about a half dozen candidates for mayor, but Fateh and Frey are the only two expected to have amassed enough support to win the endorsement.

Fateh has gotten more attention since Zohran Mamdani defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New York City’s mayoral Democratic primary last month. Some news outlets have dubbed Fateh the “Mamdani of Minneapolis.”

There are some similarities: Both Fateh and Mamdani are in their 30s, Muslim, democratic socialists and state lawmakers advocating to make their cities more affordable.

Democratic socialism — which espouses progressive and populist ideas further left than traditional Democrats — has been ascendant in Minneapolis and other liberal cities for several years. It, and Mamdani and now Fateh, has become a punching bag for the right.

Fateh spearheaded legislation to provide tuition-free college for some students and pay higher wages to rideshare drivers. Fateh has been making more light-hearted social media videos (a cornerstone of Mamdani’s campaign). He is also advocating for rent stabilization and preventing evictions, a $20 minimum wage by 2028, and a ban on the police interacting with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Similarly, Mamdani has vowed to stop ICE agents from deporting people, freeze rents, and raise New York City’s minimum wage to $30 by 2030.

“There’s a lot of mimicry going on,” said former Frey campaign manager Joe Radinovich. “I don’t think the New York election is having an impact … but I do think affordability is the No. 1 issue … specifically, housing affordability.”

Radinovich helped run a new political action committee called We Love Minneapolis that focused on the conventions to oppose democratic socialists and those aligned with them on the City Council. The goal was to try to flip control of the council back to more moderate Democrats aligned with Frey. Radinovich is now involved with a new political group called Thrive MPLS that will focus on engaging voters on behalf of the same candidates.

Radinovich said if anyone gets endorsed, he’d give Fateh the edge.

“An endorsement would be notable because Frey has won twice and Fateh is a DSA member,” Radinovich said, referring to the Democratic Socialists of America.

Even if Fateh is endorsed, that doesn’t mean he’s the frontrunner in the race, Radinovich said.

“The DFL delegates are not always representative of the electorate,” he said.

Fateh would not make any predictions, saying he and his team and have a “solid plan for the convention.”

Frey’s campaign manager, Sam Schulenberg, said the campaign expects to have a strong showing on the first ballot, but expects Frey to finish second, just as he did in the previous two city conventions.

“The more people that vote, the better Mayor Frey does, which is why he has always done better with the electorate of over 100,000 voters than with the small group of 800 people who vote at the convention,” Schulenberg said.

If Frey gets 40% support on the first ballot, that would all but shut the door on Fateh getting endorsed, since candidates need 60% to win.

Radinovich expects that on the first ballot, Frey will get between 35-40% support and Fateh something close to that, followed by the Rev. DeWayne Davis and entrepreneur Jazz Hampton. Their response is key to the convention outcome: They could decide to fold and urge their supporters to vote for someone else.

If Fateh has a strong lead, Davis and Hampton will be pressured to throw their support behind him.

Mamdani and New York City Comptroller Brad Lander formed an alliance right before their primary, endorsing each other in an effort to defeat Cuomo. Some suspect a similar alliance between Davis, Hampton and Fateh – who were spotted wearing each others’ campaign buttons at a forum one day after Mamdani’s big win.

Davis said they wore the buttons to emphasize their mutual desire for new leadership. He said he’s confident he has “a solid number of delegates that make us competitive” but also made it clear he wants to see a new mayor elected.

“I have found in the others — I think these are people who are prepared to be mayor and will bring a new burst of energy and a new focus,” Davis said. “That is our belief, that it is time for new leadership. And so whether you call that an alliance or whether you call that a coalition, that’s fine, but I think we’ve made very clear that it’s time to move in a different direction.”

Hampton said he plans to stay in the race “as long as possible.”

One possible complication: The mayor’s wife is due to have a baby Monday, so if she goes into labor, he could go missing on Saturday.

Early voting for the ranked-choice election begins Sept. 19 and Election Day is on Nov. 4. The official candidate filing period hasn’t even started: It begins July 29 and runs through Aug. 12.

In addition to choosing a mayor in November, Minneapolis will vote in 13 City Council members, deciding whether progressives stay in control of the council or moderates aligned with Frey return to power.

DFL council endorsements have already been decided, and two progressive incumbent City Council members did not win the Minneapolis DFL endorsement, a red flag for the more progressive wing that took control of the body last year. Progressive Council Member Katie Cashman and Council Vice President Aisha Chughtai failed to win the endorsement.

The DFL-endorsed candidate usually goes on to win the election in Minneapolis, but not always: See Council Member Andrea Jenkins.

A third council member, Robin Wonsley, also wasn’t endorsed by the DFL but didn’t seek the party’s support because she’s a democratic socialist. Her supporters successfully blocked any endorsement.

Eighteen people are running for the Park Board and one for the Board of Estimate and Taxation. Those candidates are vying for endorsements, too, which could make for a long day of speeches.