Peggy Flanagan Wins Landslide Primary, Setting Up Historic Senate Bid
Contributing writer Izzy Canizares reports on Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan's landslide primary win over Angie Craig, positioning her to become the first Ojibwe U.S. senator in history. Flanagan won roughly 59% of the vote despite being outspent, framing the race as "the many versus the money" and repeatedly attacking Craig's past ties to AIPAC. Flanagan now faces Republican Michele Tafoya in November on a platform of lowering prescription drug costs, universal childcare and Medicare for All.
After a big Minnesota primary win, Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan is poised to become the first Ojibwe U.S. senator in history. This victory is highlighted by the fact she won despite her opponent, Angie Craig, having significantly outspent her during the campaign, showing a shift in how Minnesotans are voting.
Flanagan will be the DFL’s candidate for the Minnesota Senate seat come November, going up against Republican Michele Tafoya. Flanagan won in a landslide, with about 59% of the vote, while Craig trailed with around 39%.
“My top priority is helping Minnesotans afford the lives they want to live. We’ve got to make Congress work for Minnesotans instead of corporations, billionaires, and special interests,” Flanagan said in a statement to the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. “That starts with banning corporate PAC money, overturning Citizens United, and establishing ethical standards for electeds so they represent their constituents.”
A left-leaning progressive, Flanagan gained major support in Minnesota for her promises on lowering the cost of prescription drugs, raising the federal minimum wage, establishing universal childcare and fighting against both ICE and Trump.
“I’ll fight for Medicare for All. Until we get there, I’ll fight to lower the cost of all prescription drugs, end prior authorization, and restore Medicaid cuts,” Flanagan said. “I’ll focus on affordability by raising the federal minimum wage, establishing universal childcare, investing in affordable housing, banning Wall Street from buying up homes, and fighting for the Social Security Expansion Act.”
She celebrated her primary win Wednesday night at First Avenue, taking the stage in front of hundreds of supporters and crediting her win to the massive grassroots support from organizers and voters.
“When we work together, when we organize together, and when we fight together, we are unstoppable,” Flanagan said. “Minnesota’s going to be part of Democrats taking back the Senate, holding Donald Trump accountable, and helping working people before billionaires and corporate special interests.”
Angie Craig was Peggy Flanagan’s biggest competitor during the primary, running as a Democratic moderate in contrast to Flanagan’s more progressive stance. She helped flip the House seat for Minnesota in 2018 and was seeking to take the Senate seat this year. Craig also had the money advantage, having significantly outspent Flanagan during the campaign: Craig’s campaign raised more than $11 million and spent more than $9 million, while Flanagan raised more than $6.4 million and spent more than $5.4 million.
Craig was heavily criticized in the months leading up to the primary, both for her willingness to take AIPAC money throughout her career, her continued support for Israel amid the war in Gaza, which Flanagan and other critics have described as a genocide, and her stance on immigration. Her vote for the Laken Riley Act resurfaced and drew criticism amid rising ICE activity in Minnesota during Operation Metro Surge. Craig has since said she regrets that vote, and that AIPAC has not contributed to her Senate campaign. Despite her attempts to distance herself from AIPAC, Flanagan consistently attacked this point, framing the race as “the many versus the money” and vowing not to accept PAC donations.
Flanagan has not always been an outspoken critic of AIPAC, but has repeatedly criticized the organization over the past year for its continued support of Israel, now calling it “a band of super villains.” Jewish Insider reported that Flanagan had met privately with AIPAC in the past, saying the outreach was “important” for her “to make sure that we’re building that relationship,” though that relationship no longer appears to exist.
“I think it’s exciting that it appears to me that people voted their opinions as opposed to voting according to any particular expected pattern of behavior,” said Marquita Stephens, president and CEO of Urban League Twin Cities. “I think people voted based on their experience with the candidates and their experience with the rhetoric that was being espoused around both candidates. I think the ad that Flanagan’s campaign did pointing out Craig’s support of Trump’s policies was probably a deciding factor for many people.”
The trend of younger progressives winning primaries has been seen across the country, with successful campaigns from candidates such as Zohran Mamdani, who made history as New York’s first Muslim and democratic socialist mayor, and Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, who narrowly defeated the incumbent Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan’s primary. These recent wins suggest voters are moving away from traditional candidates and toward more progressive policies.
“Just based on my experience with talking with the people in the community, there’s not a lot of support for Trump in the community that we serve,” Stephens said. “So people that are aligned with Trump would not necessarily probably be viewed well accordingly.”
If Flanagan takes the Senate, it would be a huge victory for progressives in Minnesota, and she would make history as the first Ojibwe woman to hold a Senate seat, a long-awaited milestone for Indigenous communities around the country.
“I think that would be exciting for the BIPOC communities,” Stephens said. “We certainly would support that. I mean, it comes down to stolen people, stolen land. There’s an automatic connection.”
Izzy Canizares is a contributing writer for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. He welcomes reader responses at isabellacani0102@gmail.com.