Bernie Sanders endorses Peggy Flanagan in race for US Senate seat in Minnesota

Allison Kite, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Nov 10, 2025

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MINNEAPOLIS — One of the most influential voices on the American political left, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, endorsed Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in the race for Minnesota’s open Senate seat, Flanagan’s campaign announced Monday.

Sanders, of Vermont, runs as an independent but caucuses with Senate Democrats and is a magnet for liberal voters in the party. His endorsement helps underscore Flanagan’s progressive lane in her primary campaign against the more centrist U.S. Rep. Angie Craig.

In a statement released by Flanagan’s campaign, Sanders said she has “the guts to stand up for working people against the billionaires and the corporate interests.”

“Peggy knows what it is to struggle,” Sanders said. “She was raised by a hard-working single mother who needed SNAP to help put food on the table and Medicaid for health care. And she’s dedicated her career to fighting for working families.”

In the Senate, Sanders said Flanagan would fight to pass “Medicare for All,” his signature universal single-payer health insurance proposal that is popular with Democrats.

“Like me, he’s sick and tired of people being forced to settle for survival,” Flanagan said in a release. “Folks deserve to afford the lives they want to live. We must take on the big fights that will actually make life more affordable, not just the fights we think we can win.”

Before running with Gov. Tim Walz, Flanagan served in the Minnesota House representing St. Louis Park. Flanagan also has endorsements from Democratic U.S. Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, both of Massachusetts, along with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and former U.S. Sen. Al Franken, of Minnesota.

Craig has represented the Second District in Congress, which encompasses southwestern Twin Cities suburbs and rural areas, since 2019 and turned a historically swing district into a safe seat. She’s also earned prominent endorsements from House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and more than a dozen labor unions. She is also endorsed by Dave Wellstone, son of the late U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone, a Minnesota Democrat.

Republicans have struggled to find a strong candidate for the U.S. Senate race. The GOP field currently includes controversial former NBA player Royce White and retired Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze.

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