Mayor Jacob Frey, aiming for his third term leading the city, is outraising his opponents and bringing in money from more individual donors across the city than any other candidate, campaign finance data show, but his major competitors have areas of donor strength.
At least 552 people living in Minneapolis donated to Frey’s campaign between August 2024 and the end of July, the most recent disclosure deadline. That’s over 200 more donors than his three opponents combined.
Frey has donors across the city, but most live in wealthy enclaves around the lakes, like Kenwood and East Harriet, or in downtown Minneapolis along the riverfront. His closest challenger, state senator Omar Fateh, has more donors in Phillips and Powderhorn, which are inside the district he represents, as well as nearby neighborhoods Whittier, Kingfield and Seward.
Campaign contributions are not a perfect proxy for political support. Donations can be a measure of voter enthusiasm, but they are also a display of who has money to give.
Wealthier residents have the means to donate, and campaigns are only required to disclose the addresses of those who give over $100, skewing the picture in the public data toward the preferences of the wealthy. Entire swaths of the city such as north Minneapolis and University of Minnesota-adjacent neighborhoods are barely represented.
Frey’s fundraising dominance does not guarantee electoral success in November. Fateh was able to win the Minneapolis DFL’s endorsement in July by turning out his supporters at the party’s convention. The state DFL [revoked Fateh’s endorsement](https://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-mayor-dfl-endorsement/601458249) a month later.
Fateh is hoping to mobilize working-class voters by campaigning on issues such as rent control and a $20 minimum wage. Voters motivated by those policies may not be able to donate enough to appear in the data, if they can donate at all.
Fateh has 156 donors across Minneapolis. The average donation to his campaign is $186, notably less than the other major candidates in the race.