WASHINGTON — A Democratic Minnesota state legislator took the extraordinary step of rescinding his endorsement in the state's U.S. Senate race on Friday, switching his support from Rep. Angie Craig to Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan because the former voted for the Laken Riley Act.
State Rep. Dan Wolgamott, who is running in a crowded Democratic primary for state auditor, specifically pointed to Craig's January 2025 vote for the act, which requires the Department of Homeland Security to detain undocumented immigrants who have been arrested or charged with theft-related offenses, like shoplifting and burglary.
This law helped pave the way for the Trump administration's “aggressive enforcement and racial profiling” during Operation Metro Surge, Wolgamott said in a Friday statement, referring to the massive Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in the Minneapolis region earlier this year. Thousands of federal immigration enforcement agents swarmed the state for months in search of immigrants to detain, regardless of whether they were in the country legally.
“For my wife, the threat of racial profiling and disappearing into an ICE detention facility was very real, and very traumatic,” said the Democratic legislator, noting that his father-in-law, a Marine Corps veteran, was among those harassed by federal agents.
“Angie Craig voted for the Laken Riley Act, and now says that she regrets it,” he said. “I am certain that Peggy Flanagan would never vote for a bill like that, under any circumstances. That's the kind of clear-eyed leadership we need during these dangerous and confusing times. For that reason, I am rescinding my endorsement of Angie Craig for U.S. Senate and proudly supporting Peggy Flanagan.”
Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) and Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan are both vying to win the Senate seat currently held by retiring Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.).
Craig campaign spokesperson Antoine Givens suggested Wolgamott is looking out for his own political interests with his endorsement switch.
“This is an embarrassing attempt by former swing-district state Rep. Wolgamott to raise his profile and try to win an endorsement in his state auditor's race,” Givens told HuffPost in a statement. “Our campaign wishes him the best of luck – he certainly will need it.”
In a statement, Flanagan thanked Wolgamott for his support and said the harm caused by Operation Metro Surge is “a reminder that the choices we make and the votes we take have real consequences for our neighbors and our communities.”
The Craig-Flanagan primary has become a slugfest over where each candidate has stood amid Trump's immigration crackdowns. In addition to backing the Laken Riley Act, Craig voted in June for a resolution condemning antisemitism and expressing gratitude to ICE officers deployed in Los Angeles at the time.
Flanagan has repeatedly attacked Craig over these votes, and previously told HuffPost they show the lawmaker is “someone who votes with Republicans and Donald Trump when it's politically expedient.”
In response, Craig, who said in a March op-ed that she regrets her vote for the Laken Riley Act, called the lieutenant governor's attacks “disgusting.” Her campaign has pointed out that when Flanagan led the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association, it accepted a $25,000 donation from a longtime ICE contractor. (Flanagan's campaign said she didn't personally solicit money from that contractor, CoreCivic, and urged DLGA to promptly return it.)
Craig isn't the only Democrat who's had to manage fallout from voting for the Laken Riley Act. A number of Democratic senators, including some with potential presidential ambitions, have been defending their votes for the law. Others have backed away from it.
Flanagan and Craig are both vying for the Senate seat currently held by Democrat Tina Smith, who is not seeking reelection. Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party will announce its endorsement in late May, ahead of the state's Aug. 11 primary election.
Flanagan is leading in the polls, though Craig's campaign has raised a lot more money. Whoever wins the Democratic primary will likely face off against Republican Michele Tafoya, a retired sportscaster, in November's general election.
