Peggy Flanagan wins US Senate primary in Minnesota

Key Points:

• Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan won the Minnesota Democratic Senate primary, defeating centrist U.S. Rep. Angie Craig by campaigning against corporate influence and President Trump’s policies, signaling a progressive surge within the party.
• Flanagan was supported by prominent progressives like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, while Craig had backing from Democratic establishment figures, but Flanagan capitalized on Craig’s vote for a Trump-backed immigration bill amid backlash over immigration enforcement deaths.
• On the Republican side, Michele Tafoya won the GOP Senate primary, aiming to leverage a public funds fraud scandal to challenge Democrats in a state that hasn’t elected a Republican statewide since 2006.
• Lisa Demuth won the Republican primary for Minnesota governor, defeating Mike Lindell, a Trump-endorsed candidate known for promoting 2020 election fraud claims, with Demuth set to face incumbent Democrat Amy Klobuchar in the general election.
• Despite Minnesota’s recent Democratic lean, Republicans see opportunity due to a narrow partisan split in the legislature and fallout from a major food fraud scandal that has implicated numerous individuals and forced Gov. Tim Walz to drop plans for reelection.