Peggy Flanagan
Won the August 11, 2026 Democratic primary over U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, 58.9%-39.5%.
Peggy Flanagan is the Democratic nominee for the open U.S. Senate seat. She has served as Minnesota's Lieutenant Governor since 2019 and previously served in the Minnesota House of Representatives (2015-2019) and on the Minneapolis School Board.[1][2]
Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.
On the record — official actions
- actionAs Lieutenant Governor, co-chaired the 2014 campaign to raise Minnesota's minimum wage and index it to inflation, and helped lead the effort to pass Minnesota's paid family and medical leave program.[3]
- actionHelped lead passage of the Minnesota Protect Reproductive Options Act, which protects access to contraception, abortion care, family planning and related reproductive healthcare services.[3]
- actionAs Lieutenant Governor, oversaw state investments in veterans' programs, including the opening of three new veteran homes and functionally ending veteran homelessness in eight of Minnesota's nine regions.[3]
Positions on the issues
- SupportsProtect legal access to abortion
Supports passing the Women's Health Protection Act to restore Roe v. Wade-era protections nationwide, helped Minnesota pass a law protecting abortion access and providers after Roe was overturned, and supports repealing the Hyde Amendment.[3]
- SupportsStricter gun laws
Supports banning assault weapons, high-capacity magazines and ghost guns.[3]
- OpposesExpand immigration enforcement and deportations
Supports dismantling ICE as currently structured, ending what she calls indiscriminate mass-deportation sweeps, and creating a pathway to legal status for long-settled undocumented residents, while also saying the border should be secure.[3]
- SupportsLoosen zoning rules to build more housing
Supports 'bold action to build more housing,' including the Homes Act, alongside banning corporate/hedge-fund purchases of single-family homes.[3]
- SupportsRaise taxes on high earners or corporations
Supports expanding the Social Security payroll-tax income cap so wealthier earners contribute more, and says small businesses should not pay a higher effective tax rate than large corporations.[3]
- SupportsExpand public health coverage
Supports Medicare for All and says healthcare is a human right; opposes cuts to Medicaid.[3]
- SupportsFaster transition away from fossil fuels
Opposes the Trump administration's rollback of clean-energy investments and supports wind, solar and other clean-energy development, citing Minnesota's commitment to 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040.[3]
- SupportsIncrease police funding and staffing
Supports funding local police departments so they have resources to train officers and support community safety, alongside investment in re-entry and recidivism-reduction programs.[3]
- SupportsRaise the minimum wage
Supports a $17 federal minimum wage tied to inflation; co-chaired Minnesota's 2014 Raise the Wage campaign.[3]
- SupportsUniversal, publicly funded child care
Supports universal childcare, saying investment in high-quality programs helps kids and family budgets.[3]
In their words — priorities
- Ending corruption: getting corporate and dark money out of politics, reversing Citizens United, banning stock trading by members of Congress and the president, and banning elected officials from lobbying.[3]
- Healthcare: opposes cuts to Medicaid, supports Medicare for All, and says healthcare is a human right.[3]
- Affordability: a $17 federal minimum wage tied to inflation, national paid family and medical leave, universal childcare, and expanding the Child Tax Credit.[3]
- Housing: supports the Homes Act, down-payment assistance, and banning large corporate landlords and hedge funds from buying single-family homes.[3]
- Immigration: says ICE is 'out of control,' supports dismantling the agency and reimagining an immigration system rooted in due process, while also supporting a secure border.[3]
Background
- Earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota.[2]
- Worked at Wellstone Action, a nonprofit that trains activists, and later as executive director of the Minnesota branch of the Children's Defense Fund and as a partner at The Management Center.[2]
- Served on the Minneapolis School Board (2005-2009, 2010) and in the Minnesota House of Representatives, District 46A (2015-2019).[2]
- Has served as Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota since 2019, alongside Gov. Tim Walz.[2]
- Says she grew up relying on food stamps and Medicaid as a child, raised by a single mother.[3]