Peggy Flanagan

Flanagan was born on September 22, 1979, in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, where she was raised by her single mother, and she graduated from St. Louis Park High School.[6][7] Her campaign says her family relied on Section 8 housing, SNAP and child care assistance to get by.[7][3] She is Ojibwe and a member of the White Earth Nation, and she earned a bachelor's degree in American Indian studies and child psychology from the University of Minnesota in 2002.[7][1]

Early in her career Flanagan worked on U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone's campaign, as an organizer in the urban Native American community, and for the Minnesota Council of Churches.[6] She won her first election in 2004, to the Minneapolis school board at 25, becoming its youngest member, and served from 2005 to 2009; she was appointed to the board again in 2010.[7][8][6] She briefly challenged a state House incumbent in the 2008 Democratic primary but dropped out.[6] She went on to work as a trainer for Wellstone Action, a nonprofit that trained activists, and became executive director of the Children's Defense Fund-Minnesota, where she co-chaired the Raise the Wage Coalition.[7][8] She was also a partner at The Management Center, an executive coaching firm.[8][7]

In a November 2015 special election Flanagan was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives from District 46A, a seat she held until January 2019, and she served on the Health and Human Services Reform, Rules and Legislative Administration, and State Government committees in the 2017 session.[1][7][6] She helped form the House's People of Color and Indigenous Caucus and, during the 2017-18 session, was one of two DFL members to chief-author a bill that became law.[7] She became lieutenant governor in 2019 as Walz's running mate and was re-elected with him in 2022; according to Wikipedia, she was the first woman of color elected to statewide office in Minnesota.[1][7][6] Her campaign credits her with helping pass Minnesota's paid family and medical leave program, and KEYC reports she helped establish the state's Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office.[7][9] Her work in the office has included child care, housing and family-assistance programs, and she chairs the Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness.[6] She spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, was one of four chairs of the 2024 Democratic National Convention, and in 2023 was elected chair of the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association.[6]

Flanagan announced her Senate campaign on February 13, 2025, after Sen. Tina Smith said she would not seek re-election, won the DFL endorsement on May 30, 2026, and won the August 11 primary.[8][9][6][2] She lives in St. Louis Park with her husband and daughter.[7][3] During the campaign, she emphasized health care, child care and economic-fairness proposals.[1][2][3] She won the November 3, 2026 general election with 53.7% of the vote to Michele Tafoya's 43.6%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[4]