Centrist Rep. Angie Craig will not seek party’s endorsement, though she will still run. That means more resources for liberal favorite Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan.
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Rep. Angie Craig, a centrist Democrat running for Senate in Minnesota, announced Wednesday that she would no longer seek her party’s endorsement, clearing the way for Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan to win the party’s backing at this weekend’s state convention.
Craig said she will still run in the Aug. 11 primary, setting up a contest between the party’s liberal wing, which has rallied around Flanagan, and a moderate candidate who has spent much of her career focusing on bipartisan outreach that she says better represent a purple state.
In Minnesota, party endorsements can carry weight, bringing access to organizing muscle and activist energy, though they do not determine primary outcomes.
Without the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party endorsement, Craig will not have access to the party’s voter roll, and other candidates endorsed by the party will be barred from endorsing her.
Flanagan is now running unopposed for the party’s endorsement. The DFL, Minnesota’s affiliate of the national Democratic Party, will award its endorsement at the party’s state convention Saturday.
Craig still has the cash to be competitive, raising more than $9.2 million for her Senate race. Flanagan meanwhile has raised about $4.6 million. She also has the backing of powerful Democrats, including five sitting senators, former House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York).
“I’m a proud DFLer. Every letter has meaning to me,” Craig told supporters in announcing her decision. “But the DFL endorsement process just doesn’t reflect the full scope of the party that we are and the purple state that we have become.”
Democrats in Minnesota have successfully won their primaries without securing the party endorsement. Gov. Tim Walz lost the 2018 DFL endorsement race, only to win the primary and general elections for governor that year.
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Craig long acknowledged that the endorsement would be difficult for her to secure. She ran for the House in 2018 as a centrist who could work with Republicans, narrowly flipping a seat held by Rep. Jason Lewis (R). But she pursued the endorsement as a way to meet with voters and stay engaged with stakeholders.
As she attended local party conventions throughout the state, Craig met resistance from the party’s base, particularly over her vote for the Laken Riley Act, a Republican-led immigration bill requiring federal detention of immigrants charged with or convicted of theft-related offenses and certain other crimes. Some voters also criticized Craig’s past support from corporate PACs.
In announcing her decision, Craig argued that the endorsement process rewards the most engaged party activists but excludes many working-class voters Democrats will need in November.
“Most Minnesotans don’t have the luxury of choosing a sub-caucus over a Saturday soccer game with their kids. Most Minnesotans can’t choose a convention over a closing shift,” she said. “And most Minnesotans can’t put a delegate vote over driving their dad to a doctor’s appointment.”
Senate Republicans are backing former sports commentator Michele Tafoya in the race. Republicans saw an opportunity in Minnesota following a major fraud scandal under the current Democratic administration of Walz and Flanagan.
But the party’s left flank was ignited after President Donald Trump launched Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis — a hard-line immigration enforcement operation that led to the high-profile fatal shootings of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renée Good.
“No matter what she says about the process, Congresswoman Craig spent months aggressively competing for this endorsement because she understood how significant it is,” Lexi Byler, a Flanagan campaign spokesperson, said in a statement. “DFLers overwhelmingly consolidated behind Peggy Flanagan because they’re hungry for a leader who will stand up to corporate power, not bend to Republicans, and fight unapologetically for working people.”
Flanagan is endorsed by a host of liberals, including Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minnesota), whom she is trying to replace. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) are among the eight sitting senators endorsing her. Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar (Minnesota), Pramila Jayapal (Washington), Ayanna Pressley (Massachusetts) and Ro Khanna (California) have also endorsed Flanagan.
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