WATCH: Socialist Mayoral Candidate Waves Somali Flag, Speaks Arabic

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Omar Fateh, a socialist candidate in the Minneapolis mayoral race, generated controversy online when he waved a Somali flag and spoke in his native language during a get out the vote rally on Thursday.

Fateh’s speech included phrases like “As-salamu alaykum,” “Assalamualaikum,” and “Somalia Hira State,” urging voters with “Early voting until November 4,” “I need your vote,” and “Hadan Udkina Hello, we’re gonna win.”

He delivered the remarks while waving a Somali flag in front of a similarly-themed background as Somali music played in the background. There was at least one American flag on the stage, which was nestled between multiple Somali flags.

Fateh, who has openly stated that he will prioritize the interests of Somalis, defeated incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey at the party’s convention in an upset result this past summer. The endorsement was short lived, however, as Minnesota DFL chair Richard Carlbom announced that it would be rescinded over controversy surrounding vote counting and machine errors at the convention.

Fateh is running as an open Democratic Socialist, which has drawn him comparisons to New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. Like Mamdani, Fateh has vowed to openly defy the federal government when it comes to immigration enforcement policy.

“Protecting all of our communities from Donald Trump means not letting MPD interact with ICE, whether it’s for an immigration raid or not. Our residents deserve a mayor who will stand up to Donald Trump and say, ‘No, not in our community,” he said in a July 13 video statement posted to X.

Fateh has also mirrored Mamdani in calling for a rent freeze and has called to increase the city’s minimum wage to $20 per hour by 2028. “As a renter in Stevens Square with a full-time job on top of my part-time Senator job, and a baby on the way, I want to keep money in working people’s pockets and circulating in our local economy. That’s why I’ll work to implement a $20 minimum wage by 2028 & rent stabilization,” he wrote in an additional post on the same date.

While Fateh was heavily favored to win the race after securing the DFL endorsement back in August, though polling has consistently found Frey in the lead upwards of double digits. Fateh’s campaign — which has picked up endorsements from other anti-Frey candidates — is banking on a grassroots campaign to help navigate the city’s ranked-choice voting system, however.

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