Flanagan beats Craig for Minnesota Democratic Senate nod in win for progressives
The Hill · C · trust 35/100
Comments: by Caroline Vakil - 08/11/26 11:24 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Caroline Vakil - 08/11/26 11:24 PM ET Comments: Link copied NOW PLAYING Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (D) is projected to deliver a key victory for progressives and defeat Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) in the Democratic primary for retiring Sen. Tina Smith’s (D-Minn.) seat, according to Decision Desk HQ.
Flanagan ran against five other Democrats for the party’s nod, though Craig was her most formidable challenger. Flanagan will now face former NFL journalist Michele Tafoya in November.
The progressive’s win in the Senate primary adds to a running list of left-wing victories in critical primaries in recent weeks. Those include Democrat Abdul El-Sayed’s win in last week’s Michigan Senate contest as well as several democratic socialist and progressive wins in New York and Colorado. Flanagan and El-Sayed are not democratic socialists.
The contest became a quintessential proxy war between the Democratic establishment and its progressive wing. Smith as well as Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) backed the Minnesota lieutenant governor while Craig received endorsements from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Polling ahead of Tuesday suggested a tight race between the two women.
A statewide fraud scandal, the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, corporate influence, electability and support over Israel became key focal points in the race.
Craig criticized Flanagan during an MPR News debate last month over the $250 million social welfare fraud scandal in the state, saying “The lieutenant governor, even as we sit here today, continues to take absolutely no accountability for any of the fraud issues. And she continues to blame the governor. And I’m going to be honest. It’s pissing me off.”
“Republicans, they’re going to have a field day with this with you,” Craig added. “And it is my responsibility to warn Democratic primary voters that Republicans are dying to run against you because they believe that you have a unique vulnerability on fraud.”
In interviews with The Hill in December , both candidates condemned the fraud. However, Flanagan’s campaign has notably distanced herself from the issue, telling The Hill in a statement in January that “the governor has made it abundantly clear that the buck stops with him.”
Meanwhile, Flanagan has attacked Craig for voting in favor of the Laken Riley Act, legislation that allows federal officials to detain certain immigrants who have been accused or convicted of certain crimes like burglary and theft.
Trump’s immigration crackdown has taken center stage in Minnesota, where two people were killed in the state in U.S. immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE)-involved shootings.
“Three days into the second Trump administration, Angie Craig was the only Minnesota Democrat to vote for legislation to give ICE new, unprecedented powers – including allowing for the indefinite detention of adults and children,” Flanagan wrote on the social platform X last month. “The Congresswoman’s past support for this bill should be disqualifying.”
Craig initially defended her vote, but later wrote an op-ed in The Minnesota Star Tribune in March saying she regretted her decision.
“It is true that the president is not using any laws to carry out these sweeping immigration raids that have terrorized Minnesotans, but it’s also become clear that supporting any bill that gives ICE new authority in this administration was the wrong decision,” she wrote. “And I regret my vote.”
Shortly after the races were called, National Republican Senatorial Committee (N.R.S.C.) chair Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) issued a statement that “Michele Tafoya knows how to win and has the fight to flip Minnesota this November. Peggy Flanagan oversaw the worst fraud scandal in modern American history and is now running as one of the most radical socialist Senate candidates on the map. Minnesota is desperate for change and fresh leadership.”
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (D.S.C.C.) issued a statement from Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), the DSCC chair, and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the Senate Minority Leader, declaring that “in the Senate, [Flanagan] will be a powerful advocate for working people,” before calling Tafoya “a wealthy Republican activist” out of touch with “struggling Minnesotans” while noting that “Minnesota hasn’t elected a Republican to the Senate for more than 20 years, and in November they will reject Michele Tafoya and elect Peggy Flanagan.”
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