ST. PAUL — St. Paul residents went to the polls in unexpectedly heavy numbers Tuesday and voted in a new mayor — Kaohly Her — who unseated two-term incumbent Melvin Carter, a fellow DFLer, in a surprise upset.

Voters were faced with a choice between re-electing Carter to a third term or elevating one of four challengers to the role.

Chief among those challengers was Her, a state representative who entered the mayor’s race in August with a strong following but a short lead time to make her case for overhauling leadership at City Hall. Amid rising property taxes and a downtown in disarray, Her had presented herself to voters as the more focused choice and said the mayor’s office had let slide relationships with state lawmakers, county officials and business leaders.

Her will be the city’s

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