About two months before the New York mayoral election, anti-Israel Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani is holding a steady lead in polls, a rise that appears to be boosting other radical Democratic candidates across the United States. Among the most prominent is Omar Fateh, a Minnesota state senator now running for mayor of Minneapolis.
Fateh, the son of Somali immigrants, last month won the Minneapolis Democratic Party’s endorsement after defeating the incumbent, Jewish Mayor Jacob Frey, in the primary. Frey has challenged the results and demanded a recount, with a ruling expected Sunday.
2 View gallery
Omar Fateh, a Minnesota state senator now running for mayor of Minneapolis
(Photo: Wikipedia)
Analysts say that if Fateh is confirmed as the nominee, Frey may run as an independent—similar to former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who launched an independent bid after losing the primary to Mamdani.
The 35-year-old Fateh’s rise is seen as another sign that Democrats may face an internal upheaval similar to what Republicans experienced in 2008 after Barack Obama’s presidential victory. Following that defeat, the GOP saw the emergence of the Tea Party movement, which laid the groundwork for Donald Trump’s 2016 win.
The Democratic Party is currently grappling with a severe image crisis, and—like the Tea Party era—outsiders with radical platforms are stepping in to fill the vacuum. Still, unlike Mamdani, Fateh’s chances in November remain unclear: Frey remains relatively popular, and Fateh is viewed as far more extreme than his New York counterpart. His extremism has been reflected in a record of anti-Israel statements and in antisemitic remarks made by some of his staff.
Immediately after the October 7 Hamas massacre, Fateh issued a statement harshly criticizing Israel and drawing equivalence between the attack and Israel’s military response.
2 View gallery
New York Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani
(Photo: David 'Dee' Delgado/Reuters)
“I am overwhelmed with grief for the victims of this violence, as well as anger at both the Israeli government and Hamas for wounding and killing thousands of people senselessly within days,” he wrote. His communications adviser previously posted that “Israel needs to be dismantled.” Among Fateh’s backers is Asad Zaman, an imam who once promoted a pro-Hitler film and praised Hamas just hours after October 7.
Fateh also joined a movement that staged a protest vote against President Joe Biden in the 2024 Democratic primaries over his Gaza policy.
“Our federal government shows no signs of wavering in its unconditional military and political support for Israel’s genocide in Palestine,” Fateh wrote on X at the time. He and his supporters deny antisemitism, arguing that their views reflect “support for equity-based policies and human rights, not hostility toward the Jewish people or Israel as a state.”
First published: 07:35, 08.21.25