Every seat on the Minneapolis City Council election was up for grabs on Nov. 7. All, but two incumbents ran for reelection. 

Rent control, police accountability and housing are all high-profile issues for this election.

Incumbents won all 11 seats they held going into the election. The three closest came from wards 6, 7 and 8 where Jamal Osman, Katie Cashman and Andrea Jenkins ended up winning. 

In Ward 6, Osman overcame the controversies plaguing his campaign. In Ward 7, the progressive Cashman defeated the moderate Scott Graham in a narrow race. In Ward 8, incumbent Council President Jenkins defeated her progressive challenger. While Soren Stevenson got more first-choice votes, Jenkins ended up winning thanks to second- and third-choice votes.

While progressives secured a majority, it is not a veto-proof majority. Progressive frustration over vetoes by Mayor Jacob Frey will continue until the next election.

More than 13,000 people voted early in this election, including 4,000 who voted by mail. Ward 2, which covers the University, saw less than 300 instances of early voting.

Ward 1: Elliot Payne v. Edwin Fruit

Representing areas of Como and north Minneapolis, Elliot Payne has held his seat since 2021. Payne won his reelection campaign against the Socialist Workers Party Edwin Fruit, holding 89.7% of the vote.

Ward 2: Robin Wonsley v. Michael Baskins

First elected in 2021, Robin Wonsley will have a second term representing Ward 2. Wonsley won 67% of the votes.

Wonsley looked to be running unopposed before Michael Baskins entered the election last minute as a write-in candidate to challenge Wonsley.

Brooke Larson and Patricia Ashby, who both voted in Ward 2, said they came out to vote because of a shared concern about abortion rights and access in Minneapolis.

Ward 3: Michael Rainville v. Marcus Mills

Michael Rainville is looking to represent Ward 3, including parts of the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood, for a second term. 

Rainville first won his seat in 2021 and is running for a second term. DFL representative Rainville faced off against Marcus Mills who is an independent.

Jacob Thomas, who voted in Ward 3, said voting is his civic duty, so he makes the time to come out and vote every year, no matter what.

Thomas said he voted for Marcus Mills because he believes Minneapolis needs more “progressive voices” on the city council.

“I believe that only one candidate currently in the race for Ward 3 truly cares about progressive values, and it is not the incumbent,” Thomas said.

Rainville ended up securing a victory by 40 percentage points over Mills.

Ward 6: Jamal Osman v. Kayseh Magan v. Tiger Worku v. Guy Gaskin

Incumbent Jamal Osman has represented the Cedar-Riverside and Seward area since 2020.

Osman faced a tough reelection campaign as controversies regarding his wife’s involvement in a tax fraud scandal that saw the nonprofit Feeding our Future defraud the government of millions.

Challengers Kayseh Magan, Tiger Worku and Guy Gaskin looked to prevent a third term for Osman.

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Image by Shalom Berhane

Jamal Osman speaking after he is announced the predicted council member winner on Nov. 7.

Moments leading up to the election results on Tuesday night, Osman said he was proud of the hard work he had done in the months leading up to election day, as well as the consistent voter turnout of Ward 6 residents. 

Regardless of if this was a presidential election or mayoral election, Osman said, Ward 6 voters “always come out in big numbers.”

Zev Radziwill, Osman’s campaign manager, said he is proud of Osman’s hard work with this year’s campaign and is impressed with Osman’s voter turnout. 

“I've never seen a candidate work so hard for every single vote in this ward,” Radziwill said. “I'm very proud of him.”

After the election results were in, Osman said it felt great to be trusted by Ward 6 residents for three consecutive years and is excited to continue his work for the community. 

“I'm super excited,” Osman said. “We have a lot of work going on. We have a lot of work to do.”

Radziwill said he knew Osman’s campaign had a powerful message and felt confident they were going to finish strong this election. 

“I'm just so proud of Jamal, so proud of the community and tough fight, but we knew we had it,” Radziwill said

Magan conceded late Tuesday night by thanking his supporters for the work they have done.

“While the results of today’s election are not what we had hoped for, I am grateful to have gotten to know so many of our neighbors over the past 11 months,” Magan said in a tweet.