15 publishers · first seen Wed, 04 Nov 2026 04:13 UTC · updated Wed, 04 Nov 2026 23:36 UTC
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan has won the Minnesota Senate race, defeating Republican candidate Michele Tafoya with 54% of the vote. Flanagan, who has served as Minnesota's lieutenant governor since 2018, will replace Democratic Senator Tina Smith, making her the first Native woman in the U.S. Senate. Flanagan's victory comes despite a fraud scandal involving the theft of public funds dispersed by state agencies to social services organizations, which Republicans have used to attack her. However, the state has previously investigated and prosecuted improper payments to childcare services, and similar accusations made by the Trump administration have been debunked. Flanagan's win is a significant victory for progressives and Democrats, as Minnesota has not elected a Republican to a statewide office in 20 years. It also gives Democrats an even greater majority in the Senate, with 51 seats to Republicans' 39.
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