Walz Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan wins Minnesota Democratic Senate primary in latest battle between leftists and centrist candidates

Lt.Gov.

Peggy Flanagan defeated Rep.Angie Craig (D-Minn.) Tuesday in the Minnesota Democratic Senate primary – the latest test of whether the electorate is moving further to the left or toward the center ahead of the critical midterm elections.   Flanagan had 58.8% of the Democratic primary vote compared to Craig’s 39.7% when the Associated Press called the race at 11:27 pm.

ET.Flanagan, who has served as embattled Gov.Tim Walz’s No.

2 since 2019, campaigned on many of the same progressive priorities that propelled Abdul El-Sayed to victory in his Senate primary in Michigan, including “Medicare for all,” ending US aid to Israel over the “genocide” in Gaza and getting “Big Money out of our politics.” She has also vowed to “rip ICE apart” in response to President Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota, which resulted in the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal law enforcement officers, sparking outrage in the state. The lieutenant governor, who famously donned a hijab last year to express solidarity with Somalis amid federal and congressional investigations into widespread fraud by the refugee community, counted endorsements from socialist Sen.Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen.

Elizabeth Warren, “Squad” Rep.Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and outgoing Sen.

Tina Smith (D-Minn.). Meanwhile, Craig (D-Minn.) was viewed as the more pragmatic and centrist candidate in the race to replace Smith. The three-term congresswoman’s district  – Minnesota’s 2nd – went for President Trump in the 2016 election before swinging back in favor of Joe Biden in 2020 and Kamala Harris in 2024.   Craig was endorsed by numerous establishment Dems, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Sen.Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and former Transportation Secretary and potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg. She was also backed by Walz’s wife, Gwen.

The governor...