Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota’s lieutenant governor, won the Democratic primary for US Senate in a race centered on immigration enforcement after the Trump administration crackdown turned deadly and destructive earlier this year.
Flanagan ousted congresswoman Angie Craig in yet another example of progressive campaigns toppling moderates amid an anti-establishment wave among Democrats.
“It’s time to fight for what people actually need,” Flanagan recently told the Guardian. “And so often I think Democrats are like: ‘What do we think we can win?’ Instead of: ‘What are the fights that we should be picking?’”
Flanagan will now face Michele Tafoya, a Republican former National Football League sideline reporter, in November. If she wins, Flanagan will become the first Native American woman in the Senate.
Meanwhile, the state’s gubernatorial race proved a rebuke of Donald Trump’s endorsement power as Mike Lindell, an election denier and pillow salesman, lost to Lisa Demuth, the Minnesota house speaker. Demuth will face Amy Klobuchar, a Democratic US senator, in November, where Klobuchar is favored to win.
Lindell’s significant campaign liabilities had led his own party to speak out against his campaign. He is contending with ongoing defamation cases because of his election denialism, as well as a potential campaign finance violation for handing out free pillows at a parade. He recently stepped down as CEO of MyPillow, which faces legal claims for unpaid bills.
Minnesota leans Democratic. It has not elected a Republican statewide since 2006, when Tim Pawlenty won a second term as governor and a Republican presidential candidate has not won the state since 1972.
Both the governor and US Senate seats are fully open, with no incumbents seeking to stay in office. Tim Walz, the Democratic governor, initially sought a third term, but dropped his bid after ongoing fraud scandals threatened to distract from the race. Tina Smith, the Democratic US senator, decided not to run again, saying she wanted to spend time with her grandkids and make way for new faces in the chamber. She endorsed Flanagan.
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The role of immigration enforcement served as a major issue in Minnesota’s US Senate primary after the state experienced devastation, including the deaths of two residents and hundreds of deportations, when the Trump administration sent in thousands of immigration officers in early 2026 as part of Operation Metro Surge.
The lingering impacts of the crackdown had dogged Craig, who as a congresswoman voted for the Laken Riley Act, a federal law that requires immigration detention for undocumented immigrants accused of local crimes. In March, Craig said she regretted her vote on the act, but it has followed her campaign throughout her run for Senate.
Craig, meanwhile, attacked Flanagan on fraud scandals that have rocked state social services, saying the lieutenant governor had not faced accountability for any role in the scandals.
Craig, 54, was first elected to Congress in 2018, flipping a seat from a Republican to become the first out lesbian to be elected to Congress from the state. She represents a purple district south of the Twin Cities, which she has pointed to as a sign of electability statewide.
Flanagan, 46, served in the state house of representatives before becoming lieutenant governor in 2019. She is a citizen of the White Earth Nation who began her political career as an organizer, a vocation she says would help her build power for progressives in the Senate if she wins in November.
Flanagan said she expected to be part of the US Senate “fight club” of progressive senators in the chamber. She was boosted by its members, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.
“Peggy Flanagan’s win is further proof that the many can beat the money,” Warren said in a statement. “Voters want leaders with backbones who will stand up to dark money super Pacs and fight to make life more affordable. I was the very first senator to endorse Peggy because she’s the fighter we need in Washington.”
In congressional races, Matt Little edged out Matt Klein and Kaela Berg to win the Democratic nod in the purple district now represented by Craig, the second congressional district made up of suburbs and exurbs south of the Twin Cities. Little had patrolled immigration agents during the surge.
In the first congressional district in southern Minnesota, Jake Johnson, a high school teacher, secured the nomination to take on Brad Finstad in a potential Democratic pickup.
And in the eighth congressional district in northern Minnesota, reality TV star Luke Gulbranson lost his bid to Trina Swanson, a former federal worker, who will face Republican Pete Stauber in November.
