{"id":1835,"date":"2026-05-27T20:36:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T20:36:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=1835"},"modified":"2026-05-27T20:36:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T20:36:36","slug":"minnesota-democrats-default-into-backing-liberal-candidate-for-senate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=1835","title":{"rendered":"Minnesota Democrats default into backing liberal candidate for Senate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Centrist Rep. Angie Craig will not seek party\u2019s endorsement, though she will still run. That means more resources for liberal favorite Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan.<\/strong><\/p>

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\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minnesota) speaks on Capitol Hill in 2020. (Manuel Balce Ceneta\/AP)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Rep. Angie Craig, a centrist Democrat running for Senate in Minnesota, announced Wednesday that she would no longer seek her party\u2019s endorsement, clearing the way for Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan to win the party\u2019s backing at this weekend\u2019s state convention.<\/p>\n

Craig said she will still run in the Aug. 11 primary, setting up a contest between the party\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

In Minnesota, party endorsements can carry weight, bringing access to organizing muscle and activist energy, though they do not determine primary outcomes.<\/p>\n

Without the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party endorsement, Craig will not have access to the party\u2019s voter roll, and other candidates endorsed by the party will be barred from endorsing her.<\/p>\n

Flanagan is now running unopposed for the party\u2019s endorsement. The DFL, Minnesota\u2019s affiliate of the national Democratic Party, will award its endorsement at the party\u2019s state convention Saturday.<\/p>\n

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).<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a proud DFLer. Every letter has meaning to me,\u201d Craig told supporters in announcing her decision. \u201cBut the DFL endorsement process just doesn\u2019t reflect the full scope of the party that we are and the purple state that we have become.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>

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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.<\/p>\n

As she attended local party conventions throughout the state, Craig met resistance from the party\u2019s 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\u2019s past support from corporate PACs.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost Minnesotans don\u2019t have the luxury of choosing a sub-caucus over a Saturday soccer game with their kids. Most Minnesotans can\u2019t choose a convention over a closing shift,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd most Minnesotans can\u2019t put a delegate vote over driving their dad to a doctor\u2019s appointment.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

But the party\u2019s left flank was ignited after President Donald Trump launched Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis \u2014 a hard-line immigration enforcement operation that led to the high-profile fatal shootings <\/b>of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Ren\u00e9e <\/b>Good.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter what she says about the process, Congresswoman Craig spent months aggressively competing for this endorsement because she understood how significant it is,\u201d Lexi Byler, a Flanagan campaign spokesperson, said in a statement. <\/b>\u201cDFLers overwhelmingly consolidated behind Peggy Flanagan because they\u2019re hungry for a leader who will stand up to corporate power, not bend to Republicans, and fight unapologetically for working people.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>

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Centrist Rep. Angie Craig will not seek party\u2019s endorsement, though she will still run. That means more resources for liberal favorite Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1833,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nMinnesota Democrats default into backing liberal candidate for Senate - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=1835\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Minnesota Democrats default into backing liberal candidate for Senate - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Centrist Rep. 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