After incumbent Mayor R. T. Rybak announced in late 2012 that he would not seek a fourth term, 35 candidates began campaigns to replace him.

[5] The official filing period with the City of Minneapolis for mayoral candidacy began on July 30 and lasted for two weeks, until August 13.

[7] In March 2013, City Council member Cam Gordon proposed raising the fee to run for mayor to $500, a move intended to "discourag[e] frivolous candidates" according to the Star Tribune.

Almost a month before Rybak announced that he intended to leave office, DFL City Council member Betsy Hodges of Minneapolis' thirteenth ward declared that she would run for mayor.

[5] The Star Tribune reported in early December 2012 that former DFL City Council President Jackie Cherryhomes was also considering a bid for the mayor's office.

[61] DFL City Council member Gary Schiff from Minneapolis' ninth ward was also mulling a mayoral run in mid-December when he filed paperwork to form a committee that could support his potential candidacy.

[64] Samuels had served on the City Council for a decade at that time and had most recently run but dropped out of a race for Hennepin County Commissioner.

[64] A day after Schiff made his candidacy official, Samuels entered the race as well, becoming the third sitting member of City Council to do so.

[65] Mark Andrew, formerly a Hennepin County Commissioner and the chair of the DFL from 1995 until 1997, expressed in early January that he was "very interested" in potentially vying for the position of mayor.

[69] Dan Cohen, a Republican former City Council member, said on May 28 that he would run for mayor if the DFL failed to agree on an endorsement.

[70] Cohen, who sits on Minneapolis' Charter and Planning Commissions, was a Council member in the 1960s[71] He last ran for mayor in 1969, losing to Charles Stenvig.

[73] All candidates then declared with the exception of Winton (Andrew, Cherryhomes, Hodges, Samuels, Schiff, and Thomas) sought the nomination and were present at the event.