Kaohly Her wins St. Paul mayor with 51.5% after RCV
Rep. Kaohly Vang Her won St. Paul’s mayoral race after ranked‑choice tabulation, finishing with 51.5% to defeat incumbent Melvin Carter, who led first‑choice ballots (Carter ~40.8%, Her ~38.4%). Using new open‑source RCV software that produced same‑night results, transfers — which added about 6,411 votes to Her and 2,807 to Carter — delivered a roughly 2.8‑point (~1,877‑vote) margin; Her becomes St. Paul’s first Hmong‑American and first woman mayor and will serve a three‑year term.
📌 Key Facts
- Rep. Kaohly Vang Her defeated incumbent Mayor Melvin Carter in St. Paul’s mayoral race, winning the final ranked‑choice tabulation with 51.5% of the vote.
- Her’s victory was delivered by ranked‑choice transfers: she gained about 6,411 votes from eliminated candidates while Carter gained about 2,807, yielding a final margin of roughly 1,877 votes (≈2.77 percentage points).
- First‑round totals: Melvin Carter 27,611 (40.83%), Kaohly Her 25,884 (38.38%), other candidates combined 13,956 (20.64%); total ballots cast in the race were 67,617 (50% threshold = 33,809 votes).
- Ramsey County used open‑source RCV tabulation software (RCVis / RCTab) and batch elimination on the night of the election (eliminating Yan Chen, Mike Hilborn, Adam Dullinger and write‑ins), enabling same‑night electronic tabulation that began around 11:30 p.m. and was posted within the hour.
- Her is St. Paul’s first Hmong‑American mayor and the city’s first woman mayor; her win also leaves the city government women‑led alongside an all‑women City Council.
- Geographically, Her’s strongest first‑choice support came in high‑turnout wards and precincts (notably Wards 2 and 3, Summit Hill and Macalester‑Groveland, plus parts of West Seventh and Phalen), while Carter carried five other wards including Frogtown, Hamline‑Midway and St. Anthony Park, generally by narrower margins.
- Carter publicly conceded shortly after midnight, congratulated Her, reflected on challenges during his tenure (George Floyd aftermath, COVID‑19, a recent city cyberattack), and offered his team’s help with the transition; Her says she will pursue a collaborative, cross‑sector approach as mayor.
- Her will serve a three‑year term as the city transitions mayoral elections to even‑numbered years beginning in 2028; recount requests cannot be filed until after the city canvasses results on Nov. 12.
📰 Sources (12)
Rep. Kaohly Her, St. Paul’s next mayor is no stranger to rising above challenges
New information:
- Her says she will pursue a collaborative, cross‑government and cross‑sector approach and will first convene partners before laying out a detailed plan (new post‑election quotes).
- Her states Melvin Carter has offered his team’s help with the transition.
- Her will serve a three‑year term before St. Paul moves mayoral elections to even years starting in 2028.
- FOX 9 notes the second ranked‑choice round margin was fewer than 2,000 votes (additional detail on the tabulation).
Why Minneapolis took longer to count ballots than St. Paul
New information:
- Ramsey County switched to electronic ranked‑choice tabulation this year using the open‑source RCTab software.
- The county started tabulation around 11:30 p.m. on Election Night and posted results at 11:58 p.m.
- St. Paul’s previous manual RCV reallocation cost about $30,000 per election and often took days.
Ranked-choice voting: How Kaohly Her surpassed Melvin Carter
New information:
- Total ballots cast in St. Paul mayor’s race: 67,617; 50% threshold was 33,809 votes.
- First‑round totals: Melvin Carter 27,611 (40.83%); Kaohly Her 25,884 (38.38%); others 13,956 (20.64%); 166 write‑ins.
- Ramsey County Elections used the RCVis open‑source RCV software; St. Paul is the first city in Minnesota to use it, enabling tabulation within hours.
- Batch elimination was used to drop Chen, Hilborn, and Dullinger; cascading transfers applied to subsequent ranked choices.
- Transfer counts: Carter gained 2,807; Her gained 6,411 from eliminated candidates’ ballots.
- Intermediate post‑transfer shares cited: Carter ~45%, Her ~47.76%; article reports Her’s final win by 2.77 percentage points (about 1,877 votes).
- Recount requests cannot be made until after the city canvasses results on Nov. 12, per Ramsey County Elections.
How St. Paul elected Kaohly Her for mayor, precinct-by-precinct
New information:
- Her trailed Carter by about 2,000 votes on first-choice ballots before RCV reallocations.
- Her’s strongest first-choice support concentrated in high-turnout Summit Hill and Macalester-Groveland, with additional precinct wins in West Seventh and Phalen.
- Carter deepened support in Frogtown, Hamline-Midway and St. Anthony Park, with more modest backing Downtown and elsewhere.
- Her’s victory was delivered by ranked-choice reallocation, collecting most second-choice votes from candidates Yan Chen and Mike Hilborn.
How Kaohly Her became St. Paul’s next mayor
New information:
- Her trailed Carter by 2.4 percentage points in first-choice votes before RCV transfers.
- Her outpaced Carter in first-round votes in Wards 2 and 3, historically high-turnout wards that often decide citywide outcomes.
- Within Her’s House district (covering parts of Wards 1, 2, 3 and 4), she won all but two of the 12 precincts.
- Carter carried the other five wards, but generally by narrow margins.
- RCV eliminations included Yan Chen, Mike Hilborn, Adam Dullinger and write-ins; Her benefited more from second-choice reallocations.
- Her was declared mayor around midnight after tabulation.
‘This has never been about me’: Melvin Carter concedes St. Paul mayor race
New information:
- Melvin Carter publicly conceded the race after midnight Wednesday at The Black Hart in St. Paul with his wife present.
- Carter congratulated Kaohly Her and said, “This has to be about the city, and that means we have to set Her up for success.”
- He reflected on challenges during his tenure, citing the George Floyd aftermath, COVID-19, and the recent city cyberattack.
- Carter acknowledged doing minimal campaigning even after Her entered the race in August and framed his departure as “passing the baton.”
Election takeaways: A historic St. Paul upset, mixed messages in Minneapolis, and a DFL Senate
New information:
- Final ranked-choice result: Kaohly Her won with 51.5% after tabulation.
- First-choice vote shares: Melvin Carter ~41%, Kaohly Her ~38%, Yan Chen 10%, Mike Hilborn 9%.
- Context that Her’s late August entry and voter frustration over taxes/economic recovery were factors cited in her upset.
St. Paul mayoral race needs more counting as no clear winner emerges
New information:
- First-round unofficial results show Mayor Melvin Carter just above 40% and Rep. Kaohly Vang Her just above 38%.
- No candidate won a majority; RCV tabulation will proceed with lowest-finishing candidates eliminated and second-choice votes reallocated.
- Confirms outcome timing: final result delayed until RCV rounds are completed.
Rep. Kaohly Her wins stunning upset in St. Paul mayoral race, making history
New information:
- Rep. Kaohly Vang Her won the St. Paul mayoral race, defeating incumbent Melvin Carter.
- Her becomes St. Paul’s first Hmong-American mayor and first woman to hold the office.
- Her joins an all-women City Council, making St. Paul government women-led.
Voters await results in St. Paul mayor’s race
New information:
- Confirms operational use of the new open-source RCV tabulation software on election night with results expected the same evening.
- Provides initial vote counts (11 of 86 precincts) indicating a ~100-vote lead for Her in early returns.
The five-way St. Paul mayor’s race barrels toward a close on Election Day
New information:
- Reiterates same‑night results using open‑source software and adds that Ramsey County will publish unofficial totals and electronic data as quickly as possible.
- Clarifies the broader ballot context (SPPS levy and administrative citations charter amendment) and provides endorsement/neutrality posture of local groups.
- Specifies the winner’s term will be three years due to the transition to even‑year elections in 2028.