Minneapolis council president Andrea Jenkins wins close race, other seats called

Minnesota Election 2023 roundup

A look at the results of major votes in Minnesota from Election Day 2023.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - As Election Day results start to come in, Minneapolis City Council President Andrea Jenkins has been declared the winner of a tough challenge to return as the incumbent.

In Ward 8, representing both the Lyndale and Kingfield neighborhoods in Minneapolis, Jenkins competed in a race that was too close to call by city officials as of midday Wednesday.

Jenkins had 3,487 votes, or 43.35% - compared to challenger Soren Stevenson’s 3,590 votes, representing 44.64%.

However, Minneapolis uses ranked choice voting – a method where residents vote for candidates in order of preference, allowing people to 'rank' their vote by first, second and third choice. After an initial vote tabulation, the method sends an additional vote to a second-choice candidate if the preferred candidate loses.

The second choice vote ranking shows Jenkins leading with 2,466 votes, or 38.91% - compared to Stevenson’s 1,686 votes.

In an update on Wednesday, the Minneapolis Elections and Voter Services said tabulation has been completed for the Minneapolis City Council Ward 8 representative seat, declaring Andrea Jenkins as the unofficial winner.

With all 13 ward seats of the Minneapolis City Council up for a vote, 9 of 13 incumbents have won reelection as the first choice of voters so far.

In the fight for Ward 7, representing a southwest portion of Minneapolis, Katie Cashman has been declared the "unofficial winner" against Scott Graham to replace Lisa Goodman – the incumbent who previously declared she would not seek reelection. After two rounds of tabulation, Cashman was declared victorious by the city.

In Ward 12, representing a southeast portion of the city, Aurin Chowdhury will replace the seat formerly held by Andrew Johnson, who previously declared he had accepted another position, and would not run again.

Elections & Voter Services is declaring unofficial winners in the following races: