Peggy Flanagan

Flanagan, a citizen of the White Earth Nation, grew up in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, raised largely by her mother, Patricia Flanagan, with help from public programs; her father, Marvin Manypenny, was a White Earth activist. She graduated from St. Louis Park Public Schools.⁠[1][2]

At the University of Minnesota she organized the urban Native community, and in 2002 she earned a bachelor’s degree in child psychology with a minor in American Indian studies.⁠[1][2][3]

After college Flanagan’s first job was at the Division of Indian Work in Minneapolis. She won election to the Minneapolis Board of Education in 2004 and served from 2005 to 2009.⁠[1][2]

She worked on Senator Paul Wellstone’s campaigns and then spent nearly a decade at Wellstone Action training organizers and candidates, as one of the original trainers of Camp Wellstone; she later became executive director of Children’s Defense Fund–Minnesota.⁠[1][2][3]

After Ryan Winkler resigned, Flanagan won a special election to the Minnesota House of Representatives for District 46A, representing St. Louis Park, Golden Valley, Plymouth and Medicine Lake, with her term beginning on November 9, 2015; she was re-elected for the 2017–2019 term and resigned from the House on January 7, 2019.⁠[3][2]

In the House she was the DFL lead on the Subcommittee on Child Care Access and Affordability, and in 2017 she co-founded the state’s first People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus.⁠[2][3]

In 2018 Flanagan was elected lieutenant governor as Tim Walz’s running mate and took office on January 7, 2019, as Minnesota’s 50th lieutenant governor. She co-chairs the Young Women’s Initiative and chairs the Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness, the Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board and the Advisory Committee on Capitol Area Security.⁠[1][3][2]

Legislative accomplishments she advanced as lieutenant governor include establishing the nation’s first Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office, increasing Minnesota Family Investment Program payments, and investments in affordable housing and child care.⁠[2]

After Senator Tina Smith decided not to seek re-election, Flanagan ran for the open seat. Endorsed by the DFL convention, she defeated U.S. Representative Angie Craig in the August 11, 2026, primary to win the nomination, in a race in which more than $30 million was spent. Her victory speech centered on the theme of “many versus the money,” and Craig conceded and pledged to support her in November.⁠[4][5]

In the general election Flanagan campaigned on building a “fair economy,” expanding affordable health care, supporting the state’s farmers and Medicare for All; she said she opposed the Trump administration’s mass deportation policies while supporting border security technology and infrastructure.⁠[5][6]

On the night of November 3, the Associated Press projected that Flanagan, 47, had defeated Republican Michele TafoyaMichele TafoyaMichele Tafoya is an American sports journalist and broadcaster who covered the NFL and other sports for CBS Sports, ABC, ESPN and NBC, working for many years as a football sideline reporter. She was the Republican nominee in Minnesota’s 2026 U.S. Senate election and lost the November 3 general election to Democrat Peggy Flanagan.Open the full entry, and CBS NewsCBS NewsCBS News is the news organization of the U.S. CBS system, part of Paramount, providing news coverage through television, the web and streaming. Its history extends from radio newsgathering to television and digital platforms; its signature programs include CBS Evening News, 60 Minutes and Face the Nation, and CBS News 24/7 is its streaming news service.Open the full entry projected the same result, keeping the seat in Democratic hands.⁠[5][6][1]

Office of Governor Tim Walz and Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan: Official website: https://mn.gov/governor/ (opens in a new window).⁠[2]

X: Public account: https://x.com/LtGovFlanagan (opens in a new window).⁠[2]