Minnesota's new Democratic nominee for Senate has baggage heading into the November election: the massive fraud scandal that rippled through the Land of 10,000 Lakes happened right under her nose.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan scored a major win for the insurgent progressive movement that's reshaping the Democratic Party from the outside on Tuesday, toppling the more moderate Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., in the process. But her role during the Minnesota fraud scandal has plagued her campaign, with both sides attacking her on the issue.
It became Craig's prime line of attack against her.
"The lieutenant governor, even as we sit here today, continues to take absolutely no accountability for any of the fraud issues, and she continues to blame the governor," Craig said during a debate with Flanagan on Minnesota Public Radio. "And I'm going to be honest: It's pissing me off."
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During the campaign, Craig charged that Flanagan had largely shrugged off responsibility for the fraud scandal, despite having served alongside Walz as his No. 2 since the pair were first elected in 2018.
In an interview with the Minnesota Reformer, Flanagan said, "The governor has said that the buck stops with him, and he took the lead here," on the fraud scandal.
Notably, Flanagan did not mention fraud during her victory speech Tuesday night, instead focusing on hallmarks of her campaign thus far, such as vowing to "rip [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] apart" following the deadly shootings in Minnesota earlier this year.
Still, the scandal torpedoed Walz's re-election hopes, and Republicans plan to lean into it in the weeks leading up to Nov. 3.
Her opponent, former NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, has already pounced on the opportunity several times this election season and did so again shortly after being crowned the Republican nominee for Senate.
"Minnesotans of every political stripe are fed up. They're exhausted with this fraud," Tafoya told a Minnesota Fox affiliate.
"We cannot show our children that failure comes without accountability," she continued. "We've got to have accountability, but more than that, we've got to do things, everything we do, to make Minnesota more livable, more affordable, more safe, and without fraud, and we're gonna do that."
National Republicans are confident that she could win big in November.
While Minnesota is not on the NRSC’s target map of eight battleground seats, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who chairs the committee, believes Tafoya is a serious contender to Democrats, who have held both Senate seats since 2009.
"The one thing that gets me excited when I think about this election cycle on the map is Minnesota," Scott told CNN. "I think Minnesota, we have a real shot with Michele Tafoya."
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Republicans also see Tafoya’s more moderate leanings as a positive heading into November.
A GOP operative told Fox News Digital that she’s seen as a candidate who can unite swing, moderate and MAGA voters in a winning coalition.
"Tafoya has the power to appeal to a broader electorate that’s starving for authenticity," the operative said. "Her career as a sideline reporter for NBC’s ‘Sunday Night Football’ makes her relatable to a mainstream crowd."
Her position on abortion, for example, could attract swing voters.
In an open letter to Minnesotans, Tafoya wrote that, as a senator, she would oppose taxpayer-funded abortions, support conservative, strict-constructionist judges and remain "completely aligned with President Donald Trump on this issue." She also expressed support for the Dobbs decision.
But she won’t support a total ban on abortion.
"I do not support an outright ban on abortion, and I believe there should be reasonable access in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy," Tafoya wrote. "Further, I believe that states who restrict access to fertility treatments like IVF are also acting wrongly — being pro-family is pro-life."
