Retiring Minnesota Senator Endorses Radical Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan Over Moderate Angie Craig

Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), who is retiring from the Senate, has formally backed Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan (D-MN) over Representative Angie Craig (D-MN), placing herself firmly alongside the hardline wing of the Democratic Party ahead of the 2026 midterms.

The endorsement comes as Democrats head into precinct caucuses, the first formal step in the Minnesota elections, and amid heightened national attention on federal immigration enforcement in Minneapolis. Smith announced her decision in a video released ahead of the caucuses, accusing the Trump administration of “terrorizing” local communities and citing Flanagan as the candidate best positioned to confront the White House.

The announcement is an about-face by Smith, who previously said she’d not endorse a candidate to replace her. “It is not my job to pick my successor,“ Smith said in an interview last February after she announced her plans to retire. “That’s up to the voters of Minnesota to do.”

Flanagan, who currently serves as Tim Walz’s lieutenant governor, welcomed Smith’s support. She described herself as a “progressive fighter” and pledged to carry Smith’s agenda back to Washington as she promised to “continue in her footsteps.”

Smith’s backing places Flanagan within a growing coalition of left-wing lawmakers. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), along with former Minnesota Sen. Al Franken, have already endorsed her. With Smith’s support, Flanagan now has endorsements from eight sitting senators, consolidating establishment support on the party’s left flank.

Craig, a four-term House member, has taken a different path. Long viewed as a more pragmatic Democrat, she has at times broken with party leadership, particularly on immigration. However, she has assembled her own slate of prominent supporters — Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg have all endorsed Craig.

Immigration enforcement has emerged as the central fault line in the primary. Flanagan has sought to tie Craig to Republican-backed enforcement measures, arguing that her voting record undermines Democratic resistance to the Trump administration. In a January interview, Flanagan singled out Craig’s support for the Laken Riley Act, calling it legislation “which strips immigrants of due process,” and noting that “my opponent, Angie Craig, voted for it.”

Craig has pushed back forcefully, accusing Flanagan of mischaracterizing her record for political gain. “I would love for the lieutenant governor to join me in standing up to the Trump administration and to [Homeland Security Secretary] Kristi Noem,” Craig said in a separate interview, pointing to her introduction of articles of impeachment against Noem over federal enforcement actions in Minnesota.

While public polling remains limited, fundraising figures suggest diverging paths forward. Craig significantly outraised Flanagan at the end of 2025, posting roughly $2 million in fourth-quarter receipts and entering the new year with nearly $3.7 million on hand. Flanagan raised about half that amount over the same period and reported just over $800,000 in cash.

As the primary takes shape, Smith’s endorsement demonstrates the broader tension within many state Democratic parties, between a leftist bloc closely aligned with national party leadership and a more moderate wing warning that ideological purity could jeopardize what has long been considered a safe Senate seat.