Peggy Flanagan defeats Angie Craig in Minnesota Senate primary
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Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota’s lieutenant governor, defeated congresswoman Angie Craig in the Democratic primary for a US Senate seat. The result is seen as a notable victory for the party’s progressive wing over a more moderate candidate, potentially influencing how Democrats approach future contests.
Flanagan won 58.6 per cent of the vote, compared with Craig’s 39.5 per cent, in Tuesday’s closely watched primary. Backed by leading progressive figures including Bernie Sanders, Flanagan benefited from a campaign that highlighted divisions between the Democratic Party’s left wing and centrist faction.
- Flanagan won Minnesota’s Democratic Senate primary decisively.
- She defeated moderate congresswoman Angie Craig.
- The result strengthens the party’s progressive wing.
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Peggy Flanagan is Minnesota's Lieutenant Governor, serving alongside Governor Tim Walz, and has built a reputation as a leading figure on the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Angie Craig is a sitting US congresswoman for Minnesota known for a more centrist, moderate approach. Both were competing to become the Democratic nominee for a US Senate seat in the state.
The contest was widely watched as more than a local race, because it was seen as a test of which direction the Democratic Party should take heading into future national elections: a more left-leaning, progressive path or a more centrist one aimed at broader appeal. Endorsements from national figures added to the sense that the primary carried significance beyond Minnesota itself.
The winner of the Democratic primary will go on to contest the general election for the Senate seat, meaning the result also shapes who Democrats will rely on to try to win or hold that seat in Minnesota later in the election cycle.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Flanagan's supporters argue her decisive win shows that voters respond to candidates who campaign on bold, unapologetic economic and social justice policies rather than triangulating toward the centre. They contend that Democrats have too often muted their values to chase swing voters who never materialise, and that Flanagan's coalition-building with progressive figures such as Bernie Sanders proves an energised base, robust turnout and clear ideological conviction can deliver commanding margins. For them, this result is evidence that the party's future strength lies in mobilising working people and young voters around structural change rather than incremental compromise.
The case against
Craig's supporters would argue that her loss says more about primary-electorate dynamics than about what wins in November, since primaries skew toward the most engaged, ideologically driven voters rather than the broader general-election electorate Minnesota's Senate seat ultimately requires. They contend that a pragmatic, results-focused approach – one that can appeal to moderates, independents and even disaffected Republicans – remains essential for Democrats to hold competitive states and build durable governing majorities. For them, sidelining candidates with cross-partisan appeal in favour of ideological purity risks handing winnable seats to the opposition.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Left-wing progressive emerges victorious in hot Senate primary in warning sign for moderate Democrats”.