Andrea Jenkins set to keep Minneapolis' Ward 8 seat after Soren Stevenson forgoes recount, concedes
UPDATE (Nov. 9, 2023): Soren Stevenson conceded the race Thursday to Council President Andrea Jenkins. What follows is a modified version of the original story.
MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis City Council President Andrea Jenkins is set to retain her role as Ward 8 representative after staving off a strong challenge from Soren Stevenson, who conceded the race Thursday afternoon.
Per the city, Jenkins earned just 38 more votes than Stevenson in the final tabulation (3,894 vs. 3,856). The final results will be certified on Monday.
Stevenson says his team decided to forgo a recount.
"While the extremely close loss stings, there is much for us to feel proud of in being true to our values and elevating the conversation about how our city needs to be in alignment with our basic needs and core values," Stevenson said.
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Jenkins, who represents a central area of south Minneapolis, made history in 2017 when she became the first Black, openly transgender woman elected to office in the United States.
She represented the district in which George Floyd was killed in May 2020, and was re-elected in her prior race in a landslide. But she faced a tough battle after losing the Minneapolis DFL endorsement to Stevenson, a Democratic Socialist.
Some voters considered Jenkins to be too moderate. Jenkins earlier told WCCO's Esme Murphy she doesn't understand how she was framed in that manner.
"I have over 30 years of progressive politics. I've served on every progressive LGBT board in the city of Minneapolis," said Jenkins. "I'm a member of the National HRC Board, the Human Rights Campaign."
Stevenson, who also won the endorsement of the Democratic Socialists of America, lost an eye when he was hit by rubber bullets fired by Minneapolis police in the riots after Floyd's murder. And for that he won a $2.4 million settlement from the city. He says his neighbors asked him to run after the current council failed to meet their needs.
The political makeup of Minneapolis City Council is between progressive and very progressive Democrats. And who has a bigger say over policies in the state's largest city hangs in the balance.
"I think in Minneapolis, it's kind of 50 Shades of Blue," said DFL analyst Abou Amara. "And so the question is, how blue are you? You could be left, far left, and what that means is that from a governing standpoint, there's been some real difficulties, ideological fights. These aren't political fights between red and blue. It's really core ideas around housing, public safety, and development and the role that plays in our city."
Minneapolis uses ranked-choice voting, where voters pick first, second, and third preferences if they want to. As of Wednesday morning, multiple wards need to advance to a second ballot tabulation — that's when officials calculate voters' second choices.
A candidate needs 50% + 1 to win outright, otherwise second choices are allocated until someone gets there.
