Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan defeated Republican Michele Tafoya in Minnesota’s Senate race, NBC News projects, keeping her seat in the Democratic column.
Flanagan will become the first Native American woman elected to the Senate. Democrat Mary Peltola, a candidate for the Alaska Senate, is also Native American.
The result is also a victory for the progressive wing of the party. Flanagan, who beat a more moderate opponent to win the nomination this summer, supports “Medicare for All,” nationally paid family and medical leave and dismantling ICE.
As Minnesota has gone blue in recent cycles, Republicans viewed the seat as a potential target following the fraud scandals that have rocked the state.
In one fraud case, people allegedly stole $250 million from a Covid-related program that was supposed to be used to provide meals to children. The Justice Department announced criminal charges this year against more than a dozen people in Minnesota, accusing them of defrauding Medicaid and other social services of more than $90 million.
The administration has sought to link cases of immigration fraud, leading to high-profile enforcement actions, protests and violence.
The former executive of the nonprofit at the center of the $250 million fraud case is white, and prosecutors have said most of the defendants are of Somali descent. President Donald Trump seized the opportunity and repeatedly denigrated Somali immigrants.
In an interview with the Minnesota Star Tribune published last month, Flanagan said any fraud was “totally unacceptable” and that “more should have been done sooner.” Asked in the interview whether she bore responsibility, she said Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, “is the one who took the lead on fraud.”
Late last year, federal immigration agents launched operations in Minneapolis, and earlier this year, law enforcement shot and killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti. The killings drew widespread condemnation from critics, who pointed to the shootings as evidence of an out-of-control and unaccountable law enforcement agency.
Tafoya, a former sportscaster, was a first-time candidate and presented herself as a political outsider. She supported deporting immigrants convicted of fraud and said she would push for new mandatory minimum sentences for fraud crimes.
The seat is open after Sen. Tina Smith, a Democrat, announced last year that she would not seek another term.
Republicans have long sought to put Minnesota in play. Then-Vice President Kamala Harris won the state by just 4 percentage points in the 2024 election, while Sen. Amy Klobuchar won re-election by 16 points.
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