Minnesota Senate Race Emerges as Key Battle in Democratic Party ‘Civil War’
Alex J. Rouhandeh
Newsweek
December 5, 2025
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However, beyond the race serving as an ideological proxy fight between Bernie Sanders-style progressivism and Bill Clinton-esque “Third Way” centrism, exists a dispute over how the party should approach campaigning in the era of big money politics, derived from the 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that allowed corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on independent political expenditures.
Craig has raised nearly $4.7. million compared to Flannagan, who’s raised nearly $2.3 million. Part of the discrepancy comes from Flannagan’s decision to shun corporate PAC money and focus on small-dollar donations, which she’s emphasized to contrast herself with Craig, whom she’s framed as a corporate Democrat tied to an establishment that has disappointed the party base. Craig, meanwhile, argues that she’s better poised to beat a GOP challenger.
“Let’s pass a law ending Citizens United and banning Super PACs in this country, but until we pass that law, you better bet I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that I’m prepared to beat the Republican on the other side of me,” Craig told Newsweek. “As Democrats, we cannot tie one hand behind our back.”
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“What this election is really about is: What kind of Democrat do you want to elect?” Flanagan told Newsweek. “People get the fact that you can’t say, ‘I’m going to lower the cost of prescription drugs and hold Big Pharma accountable’ on one hand while simultaneously having your other hand outstretched to ask people to fund your campaign.”
According to FEC filings, Summitt PAC—a leadership PAC associated with Craig—has received donations from PACs tied to companies that produce pharmaceuticals, like Johnson & Johnson and Abbott Laboratories. She’s also received money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a top enemy for many in progressive circles.
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The Congresswoman said the Lieutenant Governor’s decision to center the matter of corporate PAC donations as a key differentiator in the race illustrates hypocrisy. Craig emphasized that from 2023-2024, Flanagan chaired the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association (DLGA)—the group responsible for electing Democrats to lieutenant governorships—where she accepted a variety of corporate donations on behalf of that group, including from pharmaceutical organizations.
Flanagan said as head of the DLGA and a representative of her peers in fellow positions, she did not have unilateral authority to turn down such funding and said the decision she made regarding her own campaign reflects her values.
Alex Plechash, chair of the Minnesota Republican Party, told Newsweek he doesn’t have a preference for which candidate his party would like to face in the general election and doesn’t see one as having a “distinct advantage” over the other. He said public safety and fraud will be two key issues Republicans plan to focus on, and sees neither as having a great track record on either matter, saying both represent separate, unpopular ideologies.
“The Democrat party largely is splitting apart, certainly here in the state, between big money, corporate insiders and radical socialist activists,” he said. “Angie Craig and Peggy Flanagan represent two wings of that same failed party—one of them funded by corporate PACs and the other driven by far-left ideology, and Minnesota families deserve leadership that delivers safety, accountability, and affordability, not a DFL civil war.”
Yet, a “civil war” appears to be what this race is bringing.
On one side, Craig has the endorsements of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and senators Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Andy Kim of New Jersey, and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, among others.
On the other side, Flanagan has the endorsements of former Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minnesota State Auditor Julie Blaha, and senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Elizabath Warren of Massachusetts, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland.
Neither candidate accepts the notion that they are part of the Democratic establishment and both refrained from committing to support Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer if he seeks another term as the upper chamber’s top leader on the left.
Each understands that Democrats are not happy with what’s happening in Washington and that members of their party want change. Interviews with both indicated that they also understand that populist ideals are defining American politics. Who wins will largely depend on whether Minnesota Democrats want someone like Craig, who’s channeling the 2025 campaign instincts of governors-elect Abigail Spanberger of Virginia and Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, or someone like Flanagan who echoes the vibe of New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. Either way, each realizes the route to victory means differentiating herself from the other.
“I’ve always been a little bit hard to define as the lesbian mother of four who decided that I was going to step off the leadership team of a company during Trump’s first run to flip a seat that had been in Republican hands,” Craig said. “I sold every piece of stock I owned before I was sworn in because I believe so fundamentally that members of Congress should not be holding individual stocks … and I bucked the party seniority system when I ran and became the ranking member of the Agriculture Committee.”
Flanagan said, “I was the first Native American woman to chair a national party committee in history and grew [the DLGA], and now we lieutenant governors are the bench of the Democratic Party…. My occupation may have changed over the years, but my vocation has always been the same, making sure that people can afford the lives that they want to live.”
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