2021 Saint Paul mayoral election

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2021 Saint Paul mayoral election
Flag of St. Paul, Minnesota.svg
  2017 November 2, 20212025 
  St Paul Mayor, Melvin Carter at Red Bull Crashed Ice, St Paul MN (39736635272) (1).jpg Dino Guerin at Mayoral Candidate Forum (cropped).jpg
Candidate Melvin Carter III Dino Guerin
Party Democratic (DFL) Independent
Popular vote36,4267,454
Percentage61.63%12.6%

  Paul Langenfeld at Mayoral Candidate Forum (cropped).jpg Bill Hosko at Mayoral Candidate Forum (cropped).jpg
CandidatePaul LangenfeldBill Hosko
Party Independent Independent
Popular vote5,2983,423
Percentage9.0%5.8%

2021 Saint Paul mayoral election by ward.svg
2021 Saint Paul mayoral election by precinct.svg
Carter:     >90%     80–90%     70–80%     60–70%     50–60%     40–50%     30–40%
Guerin:     30–40%

Mayor before election

Melvin Carter III
Democratic (DFL)

Elected Mayor

Melvin Carter III
Democratic (DFL)

The city of Saint Paul, Minnesota held an election on November 2, 2021, to elect the mayor. It was held with ranked-choice voting, [1] and there was no primary election. Few candidates filed to challenge incumbent mayor Melvin Carter III, and he easily won a second term with over 60% of first-preference votes. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Background

Incumbent Mayor Melvin Carter III announced he would seek a second term as mayor on January 26, 2021. [5] During his first term, Mayor Carter presided over the unrest in the Twin Cities after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis; making policing and public safety top of mind for voters in Saint Paul. Additionally, voters were concerned about issues like homelessness, a possible recession, and the ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic. [5]

Carter campaigned on achievements like an initiative to provide newborns with a college savings account, [6] [5] a pilot program that distributed guaranteed income for some low-income families, [5] and rethinking public safety. [6] Despite entering the race unopposed, Carter was facing several opponents by the close of the filing deadline on August 10, 2021. [7]

In total, Carter faced seven challengers, including: Paul Langenfeld, vice president of the Board of Directors of Highland District Council [8] and founder of a non-profit that caters to people with disabilities; [9] Dino Guerin, former St. Paul District Fire Chief St. Paul City Councilman and Ramsey County commissioner; [7] Dora Jones-Robinson, the executive director of Mentoring Young Adults and founder of Guns Down St. Paul; [7] Miki Frost, father of five and founder of "Truce Center"; [7] Scott Wergin, a contractor; [7] Bill Hosko, a downtown coffee shop proprietor art gallery owner and architectural illustrator; [7] and Abu Nayeem, a data analyst who had previously run for St. Paul City Council in 2019. [7]

Most of Carter's opponents supported lowering crime rates [7] and implementing better social systems in the city of St. Paul. [7]

Carter's opponents failed to match him in endorsements—the mayor won the Saint Paul Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party's endorsement on July 18, 2021, [10] as well as endorsements from Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Lt. Governor Peggy Flannagan—but Paul Langenfeld was able to self-finance [7] his campaign to match Mayor Carter's. [7]

Candidates

Declared

Declined

Endorsements

Melvin Carter III (DFL)
State officials
City officials
Labor unions
Political parties
Publications
  • The Star Tribune [18]

Results

General election results [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic (DFL) Melvin Carter III (incumbent)36,42661.63
Nonpartisan Dino Guerin7,45412.61
Nonpartisan Paul Langenfeld5,2988.96
Nonpartisan Bill Hosko3,4235.79
Nonpartisan Dora Jones-Robinson2,3573.99
Nonpartisan Miki Frost2,0693.50
Nonpartisan Abu Nayeem1,5162.57
Nonpartisan Scott Evans Wergin3550.60
Write-in 2050.35
Total votes100.00

Notes

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    References

    1. Ramsey County (June 10, 2015). "Ranked Voting" . Retrieved July 31, 2021.
    2. "St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter cruises toward second term despite criticism about crime and policing". Star Tribune.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, challengers file for mayor". July 27, 2021.
    4. 1 2 "Index". Election Results. November 2, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
    5. 1 2 3 4 "St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter announces bid for re-election". Twin Cities. January 26, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
    6. 1 2 "'Our biggest competition is apathy': a Q&A with St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter". MinnPost. September 17, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
    7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "They're off to the races: Melvin Carter faces seven colorful, feisty, underfunded challengers for St. Paul mayor". August 15, 2021.
    8. "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
    9. Gayles, Jia. "Paul Langenfeld". Points of Light. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
    10. "I am honored to be endorsed by our @MinnesotaDFL party, and I want to commemorate the Saint Paul DFL for executing a smooth virtual convention process even amid the compound crises we've faced this past year. Let's use this momentum to continue building our #RunSTP community". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved October 3, 2023.
    11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Melvin Carter re-election kickoff pledges to be 'strong force for good in our city,' while challengers eye the field". February 23, 2021.
    12. "Walz Endorses Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey For Re-Election, Melvin Carter For St. Paul". July 2, 2021.
    13. "Flannagan Endorses Melvin Carter For St. Paul". August 11, 2021.
    14. "SEIU MN Endorses Melvin Carter For St. Paul". February 5, 2021.
    15. "Unions endorse Melvin Carter For St. Paul". July 17, 2021.
    16. "Saint Paul Firefighters endorse Melvin Carter For St. Paul". March 15, 2021.
    17. "St. Paul DFL endorses Carter for mayor, three first-time candidates for school board". July 23, 2021.
    18. "Depend on Carter to Guide St. Paul". October 16, 2021.