Minneapolis Council Member Emily Koski announced Monday she’s dropping out of the mayor’s race, saying she couldn’t be her “authentic self” in the current toxic political climate.
In an email to her supporters, Koski wrote that she came to a hard truth: She couldn’t be a candidate “the way it demands” and balance being a mom, building a team, serving on the council, raising a million dollars and showing up for her kids and every campaign event — all while being a person driven by honesty and integrity.
“As a woman, that balance is even harder,” she wrote. “We carry the weight of families, jobs, others’ expectations — and then we’re told to do more. Throughout this campaign, I was told I wasn’t good enough. Not strong enough. I was told it was not my time or that I was not ready. If it wasn’t said outright, it was implied in a thousand different ways."
Koski didn’t say what she plans for her political future. She said women are expected to change and shape themselves to fit “whatever version makes others more comfortable.”
“These are the unspoken burdens women face every day — in politics and far beyond it," she wrote.
Koski had hoped to follow in her father’s footsteps: The late Al Hofstede was elected mayor in the 1970s after serving on the council. But she struggled to gain traction in the race, with state Sen. Omar Fateh emerging as the leading challenger to Mayor Jacob Frey.
Earlier this year, Frey reported receiving $108,500 in 2024 contributions for his re-election campaign; Fateh reported nearly $50,000; the Rev. DeWayne Davis nearly $37,000; and Koski nearly $31,555.
Koski had vowed to work better with the City Council, and wrote that “the toxicity in our city’s politics is real.”
