# Peggy Flanagan *Lieutenant governor of Minnesota (since 2019); DFL nominee for United States Senate in 2026* Margaret Ann Hartmann "Peggy" Flanagan (born September 22, 1979) is a [[Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party]] (DFL) politician. She has been the 50th [[Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota]] since 2019, serving alongside Governor [[Tim Walz]].[^1][^2] Before that, from 2015 to 2019, she held a seat in the [[Minnesota House of Representatives]] for part of the western inner-ring suburbs of [[Minneapolis]].[^3][^2] She won the DFL primary for [[United States Senate]] on August 11, 2026. Her opponent in the general election is the Republican nominee, Michele Tafoya.[^2] Flanagan holds citizenship in the White Earth Nation. She was the first woman of color elected to a statewide office in Minnesota. When she was elected in 2018, no Native American woman in the country held a higher-ranking elected executive office.[^2] In the Minnesota record, the project's validated master, *[[How Minnesota Got Here]]*, records that the [[Minneapolis Foundation]]'s FY2017 Form 990 lists her as a trustee while she was a sitting state representative. The master reports that this entry was confirmed against the filed form.[^4][^3] Her tenure as lieutenant governor includes January 14, 2026, when the [[United States Department of Justice]] announced a lawsuit against the State in release No. 26-21.[^5] ## Early life and education Flanagan was born and raised in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Her mother, Patricia Elizabeth Flanagan, was a DFL activist who had worked for [[Hubert Humphrey]]. Her father, Marvin Manypenny, was an activist for American Indian land rights and sovereignty.[^2] Flanagan has said that she grew up in a single-parent household. At times the household depended on public assistance, including food aid, Medicaid, child-care assistance and a Section 8 housing voucher.[^2] She is of Ojibwe and Irish descent.[^2] After graduating from St. Louis Park High School, she completed a bachelor's degree at the [[University of Minnesota]] in 2002. She majored in child psychology and minored in American Indian studies.[^2][^6] ## Early political career As a college student, Flanagan worked on U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone's campaign and went on to organize in the urban Native American community. After graduating, she did outreach for the Minnesota Council of Churches, working with Native families and the Minneapolis school system. She has said that she ran for the school board herself after failing to recruit a candidate from that community.[^2] In 2004 she won a seat on the board of [[Minneapolis Public Schools]]. In her first race, a six-candidate field that included two incumbents, she finished first. She served on the board from 2005 to 2009.[^2] In 2008 she challenged state Representative Joe Mullery in the Democratic primary. She withdrew because of her mother's health.[^2] She later trained activists, organizers and candidates for Wellstone Action. She was then appointed to the school board for 2010–2011.[^2] As executive director of Children's Defense Fund–Minnesota, she supported the 2014 campaign that raised Minnesota's minimum wage.[^2] ## Minnesota House of Representatives Flanagan ran unopposed in a special election for the House on November 3, 2015. She took the oath of office on November 9.[^3][^2] At that time the only other Native members of the House were Susan Allen (Rosebud) and Republican [[Steve Green (politician)]] (White Earth Ojibwe).[^2] Two more Native women, Mary Kelly Kunesh-Podein and Jamie Becker-Finn, were elected in November 2016 and seated in January 2017.[^2] In 2017, Flanagan, Allen, Kunesh-Podein and Becker-Finn formed the Minnesota House Native American Caucus. In the 2017–2018 session she sat on the House Health and Human Services Reform Committee and on its Subcommittee on Childcare Access and Affordability.[^2] In 2018 she co-authored a bill to create a state task force on missing and murdered Indigenous women. The bill drew support from both parties in committee.[^2] ### 2016 Democratic National Convention Flanagan addressed the 2016 Democratic National Convention on July 28, 2016. She was the second Native American woman to speak at a DNC; Denise Juneau had spoken in 2012. Her speech took the form of a letter to her three-year-old daughter.[^2] ## Lieutenant governor of Minnesota In 2017, then-Congressman Tim Walz chose Flanagan as his running mate. Walz won the DFL primary in 2018. In the general election, the Walz–Flanagan ticket defeated the Republican ticket of Jeff Johnson and Donna Bergstrom. The ticket won a second term in 2022.[^1][^2] As lieutenant governor, she has worked on paid family and medical leave, free school meals, the state child tax credit, housing and child care.[^2] In 2019 she pressed for a $100 monthly increase in cash assistance under the Minnesota Family Investment Program, the program's first increase in 33 years.[^2] In 2019 she visited the women's prison at [[Shakopee]] with Representative Becker-Finn. Afterward, she supported legislation that became the 2021 Healthy Start Act. The act lets eligible pregnant or postpartum incarcerated people serve part of their sentences in community alternatives with their infants.[^2] She chairs the Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness.[^2] In 2023 she was elected chair of the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association.[^2] She was one of four chairs of the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. She spoke on its opening night and introduced herself by her Ojibwe name, Gizhiiwewidamookwe.[^2] Walz called Flanagan his top advisor as of 2020. The two appeared less close during and after the 2024 presidential election.[^2] On January 14, 2025, *Minnesota Lawyer* published a piece comparing a Walz–Flanagan rift to earlier disputes between Minnesota governors and lieutenant governors.[^7] During the 2024 campaign, CBS Minnesota reported that a Harris–Walz victory would make Flanagan the first Native American woman to serve as a governor.[^8] ### Federal lawsuit against the State (2026) On January 14, 2026, while Flanagan was lieutenant governor, the Department of Justice's Office of Public Affairs issued release No. 26-21. Its title is *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*. According to the release, Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^5] In that title, the United States describes the State's apparatus as "Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime."[^5] The project's catalogue of U.S.-government "regime" usages finds no other U.S. state described this way. That is the project's own catalogue finding, not a finding of the Department.[^5] The pack does not carry the complaint's docket number or current status, the statute text or policies it relies on, or any allegation that names Flanagan. The record here does not establish any role for her in the matter.[^5] ## 2026 U.S. Senate campaign U.S. Senator [[Tina Smith]] announced that she would not seek reelection. On February 13, 2025, Flanagan declared her candidacy for Smith's seat.[^2] U.S. Representative [[Angie Craig]] entered the race in April 2025 and became Flanagan's main rival for the DFL nomination.[^2][^18] Smith endorsed Flanagan.[^9][^10][^11] So did U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, in November 2025. Sanders also appeared with her at a July 2026 rally at First Avenue in Minneapolis.[^12][^2] Other endorsers included U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and U.S. Representative [[Ilhan Omar]].[^2] On May 30, 2026, the DFL state convention in Rochester endorsed Flanagan for the Senate. Craig had chosen to skip the endorsement process and run in the primary.[^13][^14][^15] Coverage of the primary identified immigration and ICE enforcement as central issues. Other prominent issues were U.S. policy toward Israel, the role of corporate and wealthy donors, and outside spending.[^16][^17][^2] Flanagan was declared the winner of the August 11, 2026 primary.[^2] The state campaign finance board (CFB) keeps a 2026 candidate record for her.[^19] ## Political positions Flanagan is identified with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. She backs Medicare for All. She also supports expanding Medicare to cover dental, hearing and vision care, regulating insurers' prior-authorization practices, and government negotiation of drug prices.[^2] On Israel, she supports a two-state solution and has called Israel's conduct in the Gaza war a genocide. She has said she would have supported cutting U.S. military aid and Senate resolutions to block arms sales.[^2] On immigration enforcement, she has called for a "complete and total overhaul" of ICE and has said the agency must be "ripped apart" and replaced with a new system. She describes her approach as "dismantling" ICE rather than using the word "abolish."[^2] She has called Craig "politically expedient" for voting for the Laken Riley Act and for a resolution thanking ICE agents.[^2] As lieutenant governor, she promoted culturally specific addiction treatment and tribal recovery services as part of the administration's response to the opioid crisis.[^2] ## Personal life Flanagan lives in St. Louis Park and is Roman Catholic. She has a daughter from her first marriage, which ended in 2017.[^2] On January 12, 2018, she announced a relationship with Tom Weber, a news host at [[Minnesota Public Radio]]. MPR News reassigned Weber the same day, removing him from coverage of "the governor's race" and related subjects. The couple married in September 2019.[^2] Her brother died of COVID-19 on March 21, 2020. His death was the second in Tennessee during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].[^2] The National Congress of American Indians gave her its Native American Leadership Award in February 2020. In 2024 she received the Joan and Walter Mondale Award for Public Service.[^2] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - The Minneapolis Foundation's FY2017 Form 990 lists her as "(25) PEGGY FLANAGAN, TRUSTEE." At the time she was a sitting state representative. The master lists this entry among its personnel records, alongside Hennepin County Administrator Vargas (Foundation CEO from 2007) and Minneapolis Mayor Rybak (CEO from 2016). Its validation appendix reports that the trusteeship was confirmed against the filed 990.[^4][^3] ### When - She was elected Lieutenant Governor in November 2018.[^4][^1] ## Notes [^1]: Office of the Governor of Minnesota, *Peggy Flanagan biography* (undated) — official biography of the lieutenant governor; establishes her office and tenure. https://mn.gov/governor/about-gov/peggyflanagan/ [^2]: Wikipedia, *Peggy Flanagan* (revision 1381772567, retrieved 2026-10-25) — biographical summary, offices, elections, campaign and positions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peggy_Flanagan [^3]: Minnesota House of Representatives, *Member profile: Peggy Flanagan* — establishes her House service. https://www.house.mn.gov/members/profile/news/15451/19859 [^4]: *How Minnesota Got Here* (merged master, footnoted; validated 2026-06-12), row [34] and Appendix B — FY2017 Form 990 trustee listing, "primary-confirmed" against the filed form; Lt. Governor election Nov. 2018. (The Form 990 URL cited in the master is not among this article's allowed sources.) [^5]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*, release No. 26-21 (Jan. 14, 2026) — announcement of the suit; Attorney General Bondi's certification of general public importance. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime [^6]: University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts, *Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan Uses Her CLA Degree "Every Single Day"* — her University of Minnesota degree. https://cla.umn.edu/news-events/story/lieutenant-governor-peggy-flanagan-uses-her-cla-degree-every-single-day [^7]: *Minnesota Lawyer*, *Perspectives: Walz-Flanagan rift resembles prior tussles* (Jan. 14, 2025) — commentary on the Walz–Flanagan rift. https://minnlawyer.com/2025/01/14/perspectives-walz-flanagan-rift-resembles-prior-tussles/ [^8]: CBS Minnesota, *Harris-Walz victory would make Flanagan first Native American female governor* (2024) — reporting on succession. https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/peggy-flanagan-first-female-governor-of-minnesota-walz/ [^9]: *Star Tribune*, *Tina Smith endorses Peggy Flanagan in race for U.S. Senate* — Smith's endorsement. https://www.startribune.com/tina-smith-endorses-peggy-flanagan-in-race-for-us-senate/601575396 [^10]: *Minnesota Reformer*, *Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith endorses Peggy Flanagan to assume her seat after retirement* — Smith's endorsement. https://minnesotareformer.com/briefs/minnesota-sen-tina-smith-endorses-peggy-flanagan-to-assume-her-seat-after-retirement/ [^11]: CBS Minnesota, *Tina Smith endorses Peggy Flanagan* — Smith's endorsement. https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/tina-smith-endorses-peggy-flanagan-retirement-senate/ [^12]: *Star Tribune*, *Bernie Sanders endorses Peggy Flanagan in race for U.S. Senate seat in Minnesota* — Sanders's endorsement. https://www.startribune.com/bernie-sanders-endorses-peggy-flanagan-in-race-for-us-senate-seat-in-minnesota/601522210 [^13]: Minnesota DFL Party, *DFL Endorses Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan for U.S. Senate* — the party's announcement of its endorsement. https://dfl.org/dfl-endorses-lt-governor-peggy-flanagan-for-u-s-senate/ [^14]: MPR News, *Flanagan wins DFL Senate endorsement but faces primary challenge* (May 30, 2026) — convention endorsement; Craig in primary. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/05/30/flanagan-wins-dfl-senate-endorsement-but-faces-primary-challenge [^15]: *Post Bulletin*, *Flanagan wins DFL endorsement for U.S. Senate, looks to battle Craig in primary* — convention endorsement. https://www.postbulletin.com/news/minnesota/flanagan-wins-dfl-endorsement-for-u-s-senate-looks-to-battle-craig-in-primary [^16]: CBS Minnesota, *Immigration shaping Craig and Flanagan campaigns* — immigration as a campaign issue. https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/immigration-angie-craig-peggy-flanagan-senate-race/ [^17]: Axios Twin Cities, *MN Senate primary heats up as ICE backlash boosts Flanagan* (Mar. 30, 2026) — ICE enforcement in the primary. https://www.axios.com/local/twin-cities/2026/03/30/minnesota-senate-primary-flanagan-craig-ice-raids-dfl-endorsement-delegates [^18]: KARE 11, *Minnesota DFL primary for U.S. Senate heats up between Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Rep. Angie Craig* — the Flanagan–Craig primary contest. https://www.kare11.com/article/news/politics/minnesota-dfl-primary-for-us-senate-heats-up-between-lt-gov-peggy-flanagan-and-rep-angie-craig/89-5fde0e39-7ce5-42d0-b665-ff1e08f37cbf [^19]: Minnesota Campaign Finance Board (CFB), *Peggy Flanagan — 2026* candidate record. https://cfb.mn.gov/reports-and-data/viewers/campaign-finance/candidates/18135/2026/