NPRMinnesota
Goldstein: 3.0CAMEO 02
Progressive Peggy Flanagan wins Democratic Senate primary in Minnesota
Progressive candidate Peggy Flanagan defeated a centrist opponent to clinch the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate from Minnesota, according to a race call by the Associated Press.
Flanagan, Minnesota's lieutenant governor, ran an at-times bitter campaign against Rep. Angie Craig.
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With endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Flanagan was the latest in a series of progressive Democrats to win primaries as the party chooses who will lead it into the midterm elections. They scored a win last week in another Midwest state, Michigan, where epidemiologist Abdul El-Sayed won the nomination for Senate.
Flanagan, 46, noted her own childhood experience using government food assistance, Medicaid and childcare services to move into the middle class. She said she would fiercely defend the programs, if elected.
Craig had a fundraising advantage in the race and benefited from extensive external ad spending in the contest. She had endorsements from Democrats including former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc.
Flanagan promises "radical" change
Flanagan homed in on Craig's previous support for the Laken Riley Act ahead of the Trump administration's federal immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota. Craig aimed to tie Flanagan, the second in command in state government, to fraud in state government programs.
Flanagan's campaign platform also proposed "radical change," including "ripping apart" federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement and expanding Medicare to cover everyone.
On the Republican side, the primary was won by former sports broadcaster Michele Tafoya, according to the Associated Press.
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Goldstein: —Tone: —
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan has won the Democratic primary for the Senate in Minnesota, NBC News projects, notching another major victory for her party’s progressive wing.
Flanagan defeated moderate Rep. Angie Craig in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Tina Smith, who endorsed Flanagan along with Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and other progressive leaders. She would be the first Native American woman in the Senate if she is elected in November.
“This entire campaign has been about the many versus the money,” Flanagan told NBC News’ “Meet the Press Now” on the eve of the primary. Craig and her allies combined to spend nearly $20 million on the airwaves, while Flanagan and her allies spent $4.7 million, according to AdImpact.
“I’m running to make sure that people can afford the lives they want to live,” Flanagan said. “I want to get big money out of our politics, and I want to fight for things like ‘Medicare for All’ so that people aren’t just paying for health insurance but actually have access to health care.”
Flanagan criticized Craig, who is in her fourth term, for not standing up enough to President Donald Trump’s administration, which Craig disputed. Craig, who held a competitive House seat in the Twin Cities metro area, had argued that she was the best candidate to win in November.
Immigration became a major dividing line in the race after federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in Minneapolis this year amid the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement surge.
Craig faced criticism for having voted for the Laken Riley Act, an immigration detention measure that Trump signed into law shortly after he started his second term in January 2025. Craig said she later regretted that vote. Flanagan has called for abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying in a recent Minnesota Public Radio debate that ICE “has to be ripped apart.” Flanagan said she does support immigration enforcement to ensure secure borders.
Flanagan, meanwhile, faced criticism from Craig over Minnesota’s handling of fraud in social services programs, with Craig suggesting that Republicans would be eager to use the issue against Flanagan in the fall. Flanagan accused Craig of parroting “Republican talking points.”
Asked during their debate whether she had a role in responding to the fraud scandal, Flanagan said, “The governor has taken the lead here, and the administration has been aggressive internally in working to stop fraud, prevent it from happening in the first place.”
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who decided not to run for re-election, stayed neutral in the Senate primary. But his wife, Gwen, backed Craig over Flanagan, the governor’s ticketmate.
After a divisive primary, Flanagan’s next task will be to unite the party as Democrats turn to November. She told “Meet the Press Now” that Democrats would come together to take on Trump.
“Congresswoman Craig and I will be unified in making sure that Democrats hold this seat no matter what happens. We can’t afford to give this Donald Trump one more seat in the United States Senate,” she said.
Craig said during the debate that she would support Flanagan if she won the primary.
“We have an existential crisis in our nation with Trump and Republicans, and so I would be right by the lieutenant governor’s side asking my supporters to support her,” Craig said. “The most important thing in this election is that we beat Republicans. That’s what matters.”
On the Republican side, former NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya won the Senate primary, NBC News projects. Although Trump did not endorse in the primary, Tafoya had support from National Republican Senatorial Campaign Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., as national Republicans viewed her as the only contender who could put the race in play.
Tafoya, a self-described “pro-choice” Republican, has faced some questions about her conservative credentials. She did not win the state GOP’s endorsement at the May convention, where delegates instead backed retired Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze.
She pitched herself as a political outsider, pledging in a campaign ad to “crack down on corruption, stop illegal immigrants from voting in our elections and to keep men out of women’s sports.”
Republicans are optimistic the race could be competitive in the fall, as they have made some gains in the state in the Trump era.
Trump lost Minnesota by 4 percentage points in 2024, winning 47% of the vote, which was the best performance by a GOP presidential candidate in two decades. But it has also been 20 years since Republicans last won a statewide election in Minnesota, when Tim Pawlenty was re-elected as governor in 2006.
Open article →GDELTMichigan
Goldstein: 2.2Tone: 1.3
The Democratic Party's progressive wing scored a high-profile victory when Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan's U.S. Senate primary, according to media projections Wednesday, giving its antiestablishment message a boost ahead of November's midterm elections.
El-Sayed, whose message focused on healthcare, the economy and an end to unconditional military aid to Israel, was the first progressive to win a statewide primary in a state that President Donald Trump carried in 2024. He will face Republican former congressman Mike Rogers in November.
Tuesday's vote, billed as a defining test of the party's direction, became an election-night cliff-hanger, with El-Sayed notching a narrow victory over U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, a moderate supported by Democratic leaders and pro-Israel groups.
With 99% of the estimated votes counted as of 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, El-Sayed led Stevens 48.5% to 47.5%, according to The Associated Press. The AP and CNN both called the race for El-Sayed, hours after NBC News did the same.
"Money out of politics. Money in your pocket. Medicare for All," El-Sayed wrote on social media early Wednesday, declaring victory.
Swing state
The race served as a battleground between progressives and moderates over support for Israel, an issue that has played out in primaries nationwide this year. But unlike contests in liberal bastions, this was a statewide race in a Midwestern swing state for a seat Democrats must win if they have any hopes of securing a Senate majority in November.
Stevens benefited from tens of millions of dollars in spending by a pro-Israel super PAC, and her supporters argued she was the more electable candidate in the general election.
Analysts said one significant factor in El-Sayed's favor was that Michigan is home to some of the country's largest Arab American communities, where hostility to Israel runs deep.
The result is likely to be scrutinized by prospective 2028 presidential contenders searching for a message to reconnect with voters after the party's loss to Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
El-Sayed's win could intensify debate within Democratic ranks over the political appeal of economic populism, antiestablishment campaigning and a tougher approach toward Israel.
Tuesday's results are consistent with broader signs of a leftward shift among Democratic voters. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Tuesday found self-described liberal voters now make up 71% of Democrats, up from 55% in 2012, while large majorities said universal healthcare, expanded abortion access and higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy are essential policy positions.
The poll also found deep Democratic skepticism of U.S. support for Israel. Only 16% of Democrats backed continued military and economic aid to Israel, while 57% opposed it, suggesting El-Sayed's criticism of U.S. policy aligned with views that have become increasingly common within the party.
House races
Voters in Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Virginia and Washington state also decided on U.S. House candidates in Democratic primaries Tuesday, including a handful that could determine whether the party retakes the lower chamber. Four of those races are considered general election toss-ups.
In a Lansing-area swing district in Michigan, progressive climate activist William Lawrence won the Democratic nomination after two moderate candidates split the center-left vote. Lawrence will face U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett in November.
Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington and state Senate Republican Leader John Braun advanced to the general election in the state's top-two primary. The progressive candidate, Brent Hennrich, finished a distant third.
In two Virginia districts expected to be competitive in November, Democrats nominated former U.S. Rep. Elaine Luria and Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor.
In Missouri, progressive Democrat Cori Bush failed in her bid to take back her seat from U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell in a rematch of 2024. A pro-Israel super PAC spent more than $8 million to help oust Bush, a vocal critic of Israel, in 2024 and more than $3 million this year to keep Bush out of Congress. Bell is heavily favored to win in November, as the St. Louis-area district is safely Democratic.
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