How to Run for Mayor in Minnesota

To run for mayor in Minnesota, you file an affidavit of candidacy with the city clerk during the city's filing window and pay the filing fee, $2 in a city of 10,000 people or fewer and up to $20 in the largest cities under state law, or present a petition in place of the fee. You must be an eligible voter, at least 21 when you take office, and a resident of the city for 30 days before the general election. Mayoral candidates appear on the ballot without a party label. In a statutory city, the mayor serves a two-year or four-year term.

Whether you can run in 2027 depends on your city. City elections default to November of the even-numbered year, so unless your city chose odd years, its next regular election is Tuesday, November 7, 2028. In a city that votes in odd years, the election is on Tuesday, November 2, 2027, and candidates file from Tuesday, May 18 to Tuesday, June 1, 2027 if the city holds an August 10 primary, or from Tuesday, July 13 to Tuesday, July 27, 2027 if it does not. These 2027 dates are based on state law, so confirm them with your city clerk.

For the full Minnesota process, including town and school board races, see our guide to running for local office in Minnesota.

Step 1: Find out whether the mayor's seat is on your city's next ballot

Ask your city clerk three questions.

Does the city vote in an even or an odd year? A city's general election is in November of the even-numbered year unless its council passed an ordinance choosing the odd-numbered year, and a city may not hold its regular elections in both (Minn. Stat. 205.07).

Is the mayor elected for two years or four? State law lists the mayor of every statutory city as serving a term of "two or four" years, elected every two years unless a four-year term has been provided under statute (Minn. Stat. 412.02, subd. 1). If your mayor serves four years, the seat is on the ballot only every other city election. A home rule charter city sets the mayor's term in its charter.

Is there a primary? A city holds an August primary only if its council adopted one by April 15 of the election year, which is Thursday, April 15, 2027 for this cycle (Minn. Stat. 205.065). The mayor's race goes on the primary ballot only if more than two candidates file. The top two then go on to November.

The city clerk must also publish a notice of the filing dates at least two weeks before filing opens, and post a similar notice at least ten days before, so watch for it (Minn. Stat. 205.13, subd. 2).

Step 2: Check that you qualify

Your affidavit of candidacy is a sworn statement that you meet these requirements (Minn. Stat. 204B.06):

• You are an eligible voter. You are at least 18, a United States citizen and a Minnesota resident for 20 days before the election, and not barred from voting by incarceration for a felony, a guardianship order or a court finding of legal incompetence (Minn. Stat. 201.014).
• You are, or will be on taking office, at least 21 years old.
• You will have lived in the city for 30 days before the general election.
• You meet any other qualification for the office. In a statutory city, neither the mayor nor any council member may be employed full time by the city (Minn. Stat. 412.02, subd. 1a). If you hold a full-time city job, ask the clerk how this rule applies before you file.
• You have no other affidavit on file for the same election. You cannot file for mayor and for council at the same election.

Bring a valid driver's license or state ID card with your current address when you file, or another document accepted as proof of residence for election day registration. If the address on the affidavit does not match, the clerk must not accept the affidavit (Minn. Stat. 204B.06, subd. 1b).

Step 3: File your affidavit of candidacy

Where and when. File with the city clerk during your window: Tuesday, May 18 to Tuesday, June 1, 2027 in a primary city, or Tuesday, July 13 to Tuesday, July 27, 2027 otherwise, based on state law (Minn. Stat. 205.13, subd. 1a). The clerk's office must be open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the last day.

What the affidavit asks for. Your name as it should appear on the ballot with a note on how to pronounce it, a telephone number, a non-government email address for you or your campaign (or a statement that you have none), and your home address. You may ask that the home address be kept private, in which case it goes on a separate form.

The fee. By default, the fee is $2 in a fourth class city (10,000 people or fewer), $5 in a second or third class city (more than 10,000 to 100,000) and $20 in a first class city (more than 100,000). A city may set a different fee by ordinance, up to $15, $40 or $80 for those classes, and a home rule charter city that sets fees in its charter is not bound by these limits (Minn. Stat. 205.13, subd. 3, and 410.01). The fee is not refunded once you have filed.

The petition in place of the fee. Instead of paying, you may present a petition with your affidavit. It needs the lesser of 500 signatures or 5 percent of the votes cast in the city at the last general election at which the mayor's office was on the ballot (Minn. Stat. 204B.11, subd. 2). For a mayor's race, the district is the whole city, so in a larger city the 500 cap may apply. As an example only, if 3,000 votes were cast, 5 percent is 150 signatures. Any person eligible to vote for you may sign, and the clerk must provide a sample form on request. The petition replaces only the fee, and you still file the affidavit. In a first class city whose charter uses nominating petitions, a separate rule sets the number at 500 or 2 percent of the last municipal general election turnout, whichever is greater (Minn. Stat. 205.13, subd. 5).

Withdrawal. You may withdraw by 5 p.m. two days after the window closes: Thursday, June 3, 2027 on the primary track or Thursday, July 29, 2027 otherwise, based on state law. After that, no candidate may withdraw (Minn. Stat. 205.13, subd. 6).

Step 4: Plan a citywide campaign

A mayoral race covers the whole city, so plan for more volunteers and a longer schedule than a ward race would need. Build the plan around these 2027 voter dates for a November 2 election, all based on state law:

• Friday, September 17, 2027: in-person absentee voting begins, 46 days before the election (Minn. Stat. 203B.081).
• Tuesday, October 12, 2027: the last day to register before election day, by 5 p.m. in person or by mail or by 11:59 p.m. online. Eligible voters may also register at the polls on election day with proof of residence (Minn. Stat. 201.061).
• Tuesday, November 2, 2027: the city election. Ask your clerk for polling hours.

In a primary city, the same steps come earlier: absentee voting from Friday, June 25, registration until Tuesday, July 20, and the primary on Tuesday, August 10, 2027.

A workable structure for a citywide race:

• Divide the city into areas, such as wards or neighborhoods, and give each to a volunteer lead. As an example only, eight volunteers who each knock on 40 doors a week for twelve weeks would reach about 3,800 doors. Set your own numbers from your city's size.
• Hold small events in different parts of the city, such as coffees at supporters' homes, so you meet voters you would not reach at the door.
• Learn the council's agenda. Attend council meetings, read recent minutes and the budget, and be ready to explain what you would do differently or the same.
• Collect permission as you go. At every door and event, ask whether the person would like campaign updates by text, and have them sign up on a sheet or form that says plainly they agree to receive campaign texts, with the date recorded.

Our guide on how to run for city council in Minnesota covers council races in the same city.

Step 5: Keep supporters informed by text

In a citywide race, a text is a practical way to tell supporters when absentee voting opens and when registration closes. Set it up in CampaignCNX+ before your filing window.

1. Settle your committee first. Campaign Verify, a check that confirms to the carriers (the mobile phone companies) that you are a real campaign, needs a 527 committee (the federal tax status of a political committee) with an EIN (the committee's federal tax ID number) and a filing with an election authority that is published online. Ask your city clerk or county auditor whether your committee's filing is posted online, and contact Campaign Verify Support before you pay if it is not. A $95 request made on or after Sunday, November 15, 2026 lasts until January 31, 2029. Campaign Verify decides eligibility.
2. Open your account. CampaignCNX+ files your carrier registration for you, as 10DLC (the registration for texting from a standard local-style number) or as toll-free, and files your Campaign Verify token with it. For a toll-free number, the carrier review usually takes about three business days.
3. Add only supporters who agreed in writing. Put them in a group, tag the area or event where you met them, and record the consent date and source in a custom field. Never text people from a voter list who did not ask to hear from you.
4. Schedule your reminders. Use the first-name merge field, and end the first message with the opt-out line:

Hi [First name], this is [Name], running for Mayor of [City]. Registration before election day closes Tue, Oct 12. Reply STOP to opt out.

Texts send only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient's time zone, and STOP replies are handled automatically. 100 free SMS included. Your number is $5 a month. Pay-as-you-go texting costs $0.06 per SMS segment, and our post on what it costs to text a local race works through example budgets. For texting rules across the region, see campaign texting in the Midwest.

Start with the city clerk

Ask whether your city votes in 2027, whether the mayor's seat is on the ballot, whether there is a primary and what the filing fee is. Then check your address documents, line up your first volunteers and set up your texting. When you are ready, start a CampaignCNX+ trial.