Progressive Peggy Flanagan Wins Minnesota’s Democratic Senate Primary

Flanagan’s victory over Angie Craig helps cap off a primary cycle for progressives in which they notched several high-profile wins.

AP26217796289838

The primary became a test of moderates versus progressives within the Democratic Party. Ellen Schmidt/AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt

Peggy Flanagan is the projected winner in Minnesota’s Senate Democratic primary, a race that tested how much fuel progressive candidates have in statewide contests.

Flanagan, the state’s lieutenant governor, beat Rep. Angie Craig, lining her up to run against Republican Michele Tafoya in the general election. Craig, a centrist who flipped a Republican House seat for Democrats in 2018, ran against Flanagan in a test of moderates versus progressives within the party, a battle that has played out in other primaries.

Flanagan earned the endorsement of several progressives, including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and the support of Sen. Tina Smith, whose retirement is leaving the seat up for grabs. The Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which is the equivalent of a state Democratic party, backed Flanagan over Craig in the contest.