MINNEAPOLIS – Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan defeated Rep. Angie Craig to run as the DFL Party’s candidate for retiring Sen. Tina Smith’s seat, giving progressives in the party another primary win.
Flanagan distanced herself from her former running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, who has been singed by allegations of fraud in state offices and ran a campaign stressing affordability, universal child care and a stronger social safety net.
“I’m running to make sure people can afford their lives,” Flanagan told MinnPost last month.
Craig began the race last year as the apparent front runner, having had plenty of experience campaigning to keep a seat “blue” in the swingy 2nd congressional district.
The lawmaker is also skilled at raising campaign money – something Flanagan sought to turn into a liability by attacking Craig for taking money from corporate PACS.
Still, both campaigns spent heavily.
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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.
Flanagan, meanwhile, has statewide name recognition but less experience campaigning on her own as she won the lieutenant governor’s job on a ticket with Walz, who did most of the stumping.
But Craig’s campaign ran off course during last winter’s immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota.
The reaction and resistance to Trump administration attempts at mass deportations in the state put a spotlight on Craig’s vote in favor of the Laken Riley Act. It gave Immigration and Customs Enforcement broader authority to detain immigrants charged with certain crimes and was the first bill President Donald Trump signed into law.
Craig eventually said she regretted that vote.
Emboldened by Abdul El-Sayed’s victory in Michigan over a more conservative Democrat, progressives saw an opportunity to expand their reach in the Midwest.
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But Democratic Party officials in Washington, D.C., believed the more conservative Craig, who wrested control of the 2nd Congressional District from the GOP, would run better statewide.
Dan Poffenberger of Stillwater, a Lutheran pastor at Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church and Craig’s pastor, said that moderation served her well.
“I grew up in a moderate Republican household, and so it resonates with me that she could win in a very purple district over and over again,” Poffenberger said at Craig’s watch party in St. Paul. “And I watched how hard she worked, especially in the rural areas, to connect with people and to understand the issues. Like she had to really master ag policy, and that’s not easy.”
As the official Democratic candidate, Flanagan will face Michele Tafoya, who won the Republican Senate primary race.
Tafoya’s win breaks with recent GOP tradition, which favors the endorsed candidate, especially in statewide elections. Former Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze was the endorsed Republican candidate.
Tafoya had better name recognition than her opponents, who besides Schwarze included former NBA player Royce White and former Navy submariner Tom Weiler.
Related: Michele Tafoya has the support of the national GOP, but winning over state activists is a challenge
Her campaign also greatly outraised and outspent her GOP rivals and was heavily promoted by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC).
Republicans have not won a statewide race in Minnesota since 2006, having failed to field candidates who appeal to voters in a state that’s closely divided regarding allegiance to political parties.
While she shifted to the right during the primary race, Tafoya is expected to drift back to relatively moderate positions she’s previously espoused on issues like abortion as she battles Flanagan for Smith’s seat.
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