Minneapolis Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey defeated democratic socialist Omar Fateh and 13 other challengers Wednesday during the final round of counting in the city's ranked-choice voting election.

According to final but unofficial results posted by the city, Frey got 50.03% of the vote in the second and final round to 44.37% for Fateh. 

In neighboring St. Paul, Democratic state Rep. Kaohly Her defeated incumbent Democratic Mayor Melvin Carter early Wednesday after trailing slightly in the first round of counting there. Her will become the first woman and first Hmong American mayor of the state's capital city, which has the largest Hmong population in the U.S.

She will be working with an all-female City Council.

There was no outside polling during the election. When Her defeated Carter, for many, it was a shock. Republican analyst Amy Fredrickson and Democrat Jeff Hayden weighed in on what voters were seeing on the ground there.

"As a former resident of St. Paul who moved out last year, there has just been a deterioration in the city. Even in the time I was there, I saw the roads were never plowed," Frederickson said. "People were asking, 'What has Mayor Carter been doing?'"

In Minneapolis, voters seemed to send mixed signals, giving relatively moderate Frey a third term, but at the same time electing a Minneapolis City Council where Democratic Socialist of America party-aligned members and their supporters will continue to hold a majority.

Analysts say, in the end, it was the endurance of real-life marathoner Frey that won out.

"There were a lot of times that I, as an elected official, if it had been me, I would have stopped. I would have said that is enough for me. But he continued to run and to run and run and run and get better and get better and get better," Hayden said.