Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan has won Minnesota's Democratic Senate primary, defeating U.S. Representative Angie Craig in a contest that pitted the party's progressive wing against its establishment-aligned moderates. The race was called by Decision Desk HQ on Tuesday night, handing Flanagan a significant victory in the battle to succeed retiring Senator Tina Smith.
Flanagan, who had the backing of prominent progressives including Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, as well as Senator Smith herself, overcame a crowded field of six candidates. Craig, who represents a swing district in the southern Twin Cities suburbs, was her most formidable opponent, drawing support from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senator Elissa Slotkin, and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
The primary became a proxy war for the broader ideological struggle within the Democratic Party, with recent weeks seeing similar progressive gains in Michigan, New York, and Colorado. Flanagan's victory adds to that momentum, though she and Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed are not democratic socialists.
In the general election, Flanagan will face Republican Michele Tafoya, a former NFL sideline reporter and political commentator. Tafoya won the GOP primary, setting up a November contest that will test the state's shifting political landscape.
The campaign was marked by sharp exchanges over a massive statewide fraud scandal, immigration enforcement, and corporate influence. Craig repeatedly criticized Flanagan for her role in the $250 million social welfare fraud scandal, accusing her of dodging accountability. During a debate on MPR News, Craig said, "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."
Craig warned that Republicans would exploit the issue, saying, "Republicans, they're going to have a field day with this with you. 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."
Flanagan has distanced herself from the scandal, telling The Hill in January that "the governor has made it abundantly clear that the buck stops with him." Meanwhile, she went on the offensive against Craig over immigration policy, highlighting Craig's vote for the Laken Riley Act, which expands federal authority to detain undocumented immigrants accused or convicted of certain crimes.
Flanagan argued that the legislation gave ICE unprecedented powers, including indefinite detention of adults and children. "Three days into the second Trump administration, Angie Craig was the only Minnesota Democrat to vote for legislation to give ICE new, unprecedented powers," she wrote on X last month. "The Congresswoman's past support for this bill should be disqualifying."
Craig initially defended her vote but later reversed course, writing in an op-ed in March that she regretted it. "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."
Immigration has been a particularly sensitive issue in Minnesota after two people were killed in ICE-involved shootings in the state. The race also drew attention to the deployment of federal election monitors to Minnesota, a move that sparked local pushback.
Flanagan's victory adds to a string of progressive successes in recent primaries, including the rising influence of democratic socialists in the party. The general election will be closely watched as Democrats seek to hold the seat in a state that has become a battleground.
