Progressive Democrats get another win in Minnesota US Senate primary
[August 12, 2026]
By JONATHAN J. COOPER
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan won the Minnesota Democratic
Senate primary on Tuesday in the latest victory for an insurgent
progressive over the party’s establishment.
Flanagan defeated centrist U.S. Rep. Angie Craig with a pledge to fight
the influence of corporations and confront Republican President Donald
Trump.
“For months now, I have been telling you that this campaign was about
the many versus the money,” Flanagan said as she celebrated her victory
in Minneapolis. “Well guess what? The many just won.”
The outcome was another sign of progressive energy among Democratic
primary voters. It comes a week after Abdul El-Sayed won a bitter and
divisive primary in Michigan that fired up the left and fueled anxiety
among party leaders that Democrats will alienate moderate swing voters.
The result was less clear in Tuesday's primary for Wisconsin governor,
where democratic socialist Francesca Hong and moderate David Crowley
were in a tight race as of Wednesday morning.
Flanagan will be the front-runner in the general election contest
against former NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, who won the GOP
primary Tuesday. Minnesota voters haven’t elected a Republican to a
statewide office since 2006.
Still, Republicans are hoping a fraud scandal involving the widespread
theft of public funds will give them an opening up and down the ballot.
“We’ve had a crisis of leadership here. We’ve seen what career
politicians have done in this state,” Tafoya told reporters after
casting her ballot earlier Tuesday in a Minneapolis suburb. “They’ve
brought us to a place of national embarrassment, and this state is ready
for change.”
Meanwhile, Lisa Demuth won the Republican primary for Minnesota
governor. Among the candidates she defeated was Mike Lindell, the Trump-
endorsed pillow purveyor, who has been among the most persistent
advocates of the lie that Trump’s 2020 loss to Joe Biden was fraudulent.
Demuth, the state House speaker, will face U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who
defeated six others to win the Democratic nomination.
Race between Craig and Flanagan shaped by ICE, outside spending
In the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Tina Smith, Craig lined
up support from Democratic establishment figures including House Speaker
Hakeem Jeffries and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as well as senators
from battleground states.
She pointed to her record of winning tough races in a closely divided
House district in the suburban Twin Cities, saying she had the
experience to bring the change voters are demanding to Washington.
“Donald Trump is a threat to our democracy, and Michele Tafoya would be
nothing more than a rubber stamp to his dangerous agenda,” Craig said,
previewing the message Democrats will take into November as she conceded
and urged her supporters to back Flanagan.
Flanagan was backed by popular progressives including Sens. Bernie
Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, as well as Smith, who rallied with her in
the campaign’s final weeks.
Flanagan highlighted Craig’s support from wealthy donors and blasted her
vote for a Trump-backed immigration bill, which became a liability after
immigration agents shot and killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti in
Minneapolis.
The race was shaped by the killing of Good and Pretti by federal
immigration officers in Minneapolis, confrontations that were caught on
camera and fueled a backlash to Trump's immigration policies. Flanagan
highlighted Craig's vote for the Laken Riley Act, an immigration bill
that passed early in Trump's second term. Craig repudiated her support
after Good and Pretti were killed.
U.S. support for Israel and the influence of corporations and wealthy
donors also figured prominently in a race that attracted tens of
millions of dollars in spending by allies of both women.
“I love that she doesn’t take any corporate money, she doesn’t take any
money from AIPAC,” said Andrea Ropella, a Flanagan supporter, referring
to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which supports
pro-Israel candidates. “The things that she says, she believes in and
she stands for.”
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Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, a Republican gubernatorial
candidate, greets supporters after taking part in a Minnesota
Governor Candidate Forum in Morgan, Minn., Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026.
(AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
Gov. Tim Walz declined to endorse either candidate, but late last
month his wife, Gwen Walz, endorsed Craig over Flanagan, a move seen
as a repudiation of her husband's running mate and governing partner
for two terms.
Trump did not endorse a candidate on the Republican side, although
Tafoya had support from the national GOP. Adam Schwarze, a Marine
veteran and Navy SEAL, had the official backing of the state
Republican committee and Royce White had an existing profile as a
prior candidate, conservative commentator and a brief professional
basketball career.
Lisa Demuth wins GOP governor primary over ‘MyPillow Guy’ Mike
Lindell
Republicans had another crowded primary in the race for governor.
Lindell established his national profile from his TV advertising
campaign as the “MyPillow Guy.” He has been one of Trump’s most
outspoken supporters and a persistent proponent of myths about the
2020 election. He lost a defamation lawsuit last year and was
ordered to pay $2.3 million to a former employee of a voting systems
company, whom he called a traitor.
In a post on social media Tuesday morning, Trump said Lindell
“deserves a BIG WIN.”
Trump's endorsement carries enormous weight in GOP primaries, and
few of his favored candidates have lost so far this year.
Some prominent Minnesota Republicans worried Lindell was too toxic
with independent voters and would drag down the entire GOP ticket.
Even state GOP Chairman Alex Plechash raised doubts about Lindell's
electability.
Jim Busche, 79, said he likes Lindell but agrees that he’s probably
too controversial to win a general election, so he cast his vote for
Demuth.
“I wanted to vote for somebody that at least has a chance,” said
Busche, who is retired and lives in Independence.
GOP sees hope despite Minnesota's long blue streak
No Republican has won a statewide race in Minnesota since Gov. Tim
Pawlenty was reelected in 2006, but the state is more closely
divided than that history would suggest.
In 2016, Democrat Hillary Clinton beat Trump here by only 1.5
points, and in 2024, even with Walz on the ticket, Democrat Kamala
Harris won the state by only 4 points.
In the state Legislature, Democrats hold just a one-seat majority in
the Senate, and the House is split evenly between the parties.
Republicans think the fraud scandal, which led Walz to abandon his
plans to run for a third term, gives them a rare opening to make
inroads in an otherwise tough environment for the GOP.
At least 65 people have been convicted in a series of overlapping
food fraud cases stemming from investigations that began during the
Biden administration. One former nonprofit leader was sentenced in
May to 42 years in prison in a $250 million fraud case.
Trump pointed to the scandals as justification for launching a
massive immigration crackdown that he initially said would focus on
the state’s large Somali community.
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