Minnesota’s Democratic US Senate primary is growing increasingly combative as candidates enter the final stretch before election day.
Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota’s lieutenant governor, has gained fresh momentum in the race, powered by a wave of progressive endorsements from high-profile figures including Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, as well as Representatives Ilhan Omar and Ro Khanna.
But Angie Craig, one of Flanagan’s main Democratic rivals, made clear she has no intention of fading quietly. During a Minnesota Public Radio debate on Monday, Craig sharply criticized Flanagan over what she described as a failure to accept responsibility for Minnesota’s fraud crisis, saying the issue was “p***ing [her] off.”
“The lieutenant governor, even as we sit here today, continues to take absolutely no accountability for any of the fraud issues, and she continues to blame the governor,” Craig told MPR on Monday, adding, “I’m going to be honest, it’s p***ing me off.”
“It p***es me off that you completely put all of the responsibility on the governor of Minnesota when you were the number two elected leader in Minnesota during that period of time,” Craig continued, intensifying her criticism of Flanagan.
Flanagan pushed back, accusing Craig of leaning on “Republican talking points” in her line of attack.
Craig also argued that “Republicans are dying to run against [Flanagan] because they believe that [she has] a unique vulnerability on fraud.”
Governor Tim Walz has not yet endorsed a candidate in the Minnesota Senate race, but his wife, Gwen Walz, threw her support behind Craig on Monday.
Angie Craig speaks to constituents during a door-knocking event on Saturday, July 25, 2026, in Minneapolis
Peggy Flanagan, a Democratic candidate for the US Senate, speaks during a campaign rally Monday, July 20, 2026, in Minneapolis
‘In an era when everything we hold dear is at stake, we need a nominee who can win statewide—in red counties and blue. And that’s Angie … She has the savvy, the focus, and the work ethic necessary to get the job done and keep this seat blue,’ Gwen Walz shared in her endorsement.
Walz has been mired in a deepening scandal over scams involving state welfare, including payments to daycares and COVID-era loans. The majority of the defendants indicted so far come from the Somali community.
Prosecutors have said that at least 78 people connected with the Feeding Our Future program defrauded the federal government of up to $300 million, falsely claiming reimbursement for meals served to children during the COVID-19 pandemic, making it the largest pandemic relief fraud scheme in American history.
Instead, the defendants allegedly blew the stolen money on Lamborghinis, Porsche SUVs, beachfront property in Kenya, and private villas in the Maldives. The vast majority of those convicted are Somali.
US Attorney Joe Thompson announced in December of last year that investigators had uncovered around $9 billion in federal Medicaid funds stolen from 14 Minnesota programs since 2018. Eighty-two of the 92 defendants – charged across child nutrition, housing services and autism program scams – are Somali.
Minnesota’s US Senate seat is rated ‘likely Democratic’ by the Cook Political Report.
A SurveyUSA poll from last week showed Craig and Flanagan in a tied race with 40 percent of likely primary voters backing each candidate.
