St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter confirmed Tuesday that he will run for a third term in office come November, truncated as that term may be by the capital city’s shift to even-year municipal elections.
Carter, who handily won re-election in 2021, has not made an official campaign announcement but responded to a question about his political plans during a “Breakfast with the Mayors” event held Tuesday morning at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. Asked by the host if he were up for a third term, Carter said there was no “foreseeable future” in which he would not run.
Carter appeared alongside Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for the breakfast, a longstanding New Year’s tradition for the two Twin Cities mayors organized by the St. Paul Area Chamber and the Minneapolis Regional Chamber.
In an effort to boost turnout, St. Paul voters last November approved an effort to shift mayoral and city council elections to even years to coincide with that of the U.S. president. As a result, the winner of this year’s mayoral election will serve for three years, with the next mayoral race unfolding in 2028 instead of 2029. During the transition to even-year elections, the current city council will serve a fifth year, with the next council races also landing on the ballot in 2028.
Carter is the city’s 46th mayor, its first Black mayor and at the time of his first election in 2017 also was St. Paul’s youngest. In 2021, he received more than 61% of the vote in an eight-way race.
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