by Hayley Feland
Socialist-backed candidates had a successful election night Tuesday, with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) winning six of the seven elections where they made endorsements.
Minneapolis elected a fourth Democratic Socialist member to the City Council, bringing the total number of socialist council members to four.
“I could not be more grateful for the big, broad, inclusive coalition we built over the past year,” the newly-elected Aurin Chowdhury (pictured above, left) said after defeating Luther Ranheim for the Ward 12 seat.
I am so excited to be your next Ward 12 city council member for the city of Minneapolis and represent you.
I could not be more grateful for the big, broad, inclusive coalition we built over the past year.
1/2 pic.twitter.com/k50ru2t6Tw
— Aurin Chowdhury Council Member Elect W12 (@aurinmpls) November 8, 2023
Chowdhury was endorsed by the Twin Cities DSA, along with three additional Minneapolis City Council members who were reelected: Jason Chavez, Aisha Chughtai, and Robin Wonsley. The city’s progressive faction is now expected to hold a slim majority on the council.
The winners in Minneapolis were:
- Ward 1: Elliott Payne (reelected)
- Ward 2: Robin Wonsley (reelected)
- Ward 3: Michael Rainville (reelected)
- Ward 4: LaTrisha Vetaw (reelected)
- Ward 5: Jeremiah Ellison (reelected)
- Ward 6: Jamal Osman (reelected)
- Ward 7: Katie Cashman (newly elected)
- Ward 8: Andrea Jenkins (reelected)
- Ward 9: Jason Chavez (reelected)
- Ward 10: Aisha Chughtai (reelected)
- Ward 11: Emily Koski (reelected)
- Ward 12: Aurin Chowdhury (newly elected)
- Ward 13: Linea Palmisano (reelected)
The Twin Cities DSA endorsed a total of seven candidates between Minneapolis and St. Paul, six of whom won. One DSA-endorsed candidate for the Minneapolis City Council, Soren Stevenson, was narrowly defeated by incumbent City Council President Andrea Jenkins, who won by 38 votes despite trailing Stevenson in the first round under the city’s ranked-choice voting system.
DSA-endorsed Nelsie Yang (pictured above, right) won reelection to St. Paul’s City Council in Ward 6 and Hwa Jeong Kim will replace outgoing City Council President Amy Brendmoen in Ward 5. St. Paul also uses a ranked-choice voting system which requires candidates to win a majority (50%, plus one vote) to be elected. If no candidate receives a majority in the first round, then the lowest-performing candidates are eliminated and their votes are reallocated to the remaining candidates. In three wards, no candidate won a majority in the first round, but Isaac Russell has already conceded to Saura Jost in Ward 3. Ramsey County election officials said they will begin the “reallocation” process in Ward 1 and Ward 7 on Friday.
Thus far, the results in St. Paul are:
- Ward 1: Anika Bowie leads after first round
- Ward 2: Rebecca Noecker (reelected)
- Ward 3: Saura Jost (newly elected)
- Ward 4: Mitra Jalali (reelected)
- Ward 5: Hwa Jeong Kim (newly elected)
- Ward 6: Nelsie Yang (reelected)
- Ward 7: Cheniqua Johnson leads after first round
Twin Cities DSA has also endorsed several sitting state legislators, including: Sen. Omar Fateh, DFL-Minneapolis, Sen. Zaynab Mohamed, DFL-Minneapolis, Rep. Athena Hollins, DFL-St. Paul, Rep. Samantha Sencer-Mura, DFL-Minneapolis, and Sen. Jen McEwen, DFL-Duluth.
The DSA recently faced criticism for its statement that blamed “Israel’s apartheid regime” for Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas’ attack on the Jewish state.
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Hayley Feland previously worked as a journalist with The Minnesota Sun, The Wisconsin Daily Star, and The College Fix. She is a Minnesota native with a passion for politics and journalism.
Photo “Aurin Chowdhury” by Aurin Chowdhury. Photo “Nelsie Yang” by Nelsie Yang. Background Photo “Voting Booths” by Tim Evanson. CC BY-SA 2.0.
