Jourdan Bennett-Begaye
ICT
WASHINGTON — It’s official: Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan is running for the U.S. Senate.
Flanagan announced her decision and officially launched her campaign on social media on Thursday, Feb. 20, one week after indicating her interest to run when current Sen. Tina Smith said she would not seek reelection.
The lieutenant governor wrote in her formal announcement Thursday that a Native woman has never won a U.S. Senate seat.
“I believe we can change that,” she said.
Flanagan, White Earth Nation, is currently the highest-ranking Native woman in an executive office across the country.
“Growing up, my family relied on government assistance programs like Section 8 and free and reduced lunch — even though my mom worked full-time in healthcare,” Flanagan said in the statement.
“My lived experience has informed my belief that we should wrap our arms around our neighbors in need,” she said. “That’s why on the school board, in the state house, and as lieutenant governor, I’ve championed kitchen-table issues like raising the minimum wage, paid family and medical leave, and free school meals.”
Democrat Paulette Jordan, Coeur d’Alene, gave a try at becoming the first Native American woman as a U.S. Senator in 2020 when she ran against incumbent Jim Risch, Republican, in Idaho. She was unsuccessful.
Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin, Cherokee, is the second Native American man to serve in the U.S. Senate. Former Colorado Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Northern Cheyenne, served two terms after becoming the first Native American to be elected to the U.S. Senate.
Flanagan has served as the state’s 50th lieutenant governor alongside Gov. Tim Walz since 2019. She helped create the Minnesota Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office, a first for the country.
Many others are considering running for the seat, including Democrats Walz, U.S. Rep Ilhan Omar, and U.S. Rep. Angie Craig. According to Axios, Royce White and Adam Schwarze, both Republicans, are also expected to run.
If Flanagan won the seat, she would join a group of four Native American congressional members: Mullin; Oklahoma Republican Rep. Tom Cole, Chickasaw Nation; Kansas Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids, Ho‑Chunk; and Oklahoma Republican Rep. Josh Brecheen, Choctaw.
Deb Haaland, Laguna Pueblo, kicked off her run for New Mexico’s Governor on Feb. 11, noting that she would be the first Native American woman governor in the nation as well if elected.
Both the Minnesota and New Mexico gubernatorial elections are Nov. 3, 2026.
FROM THE ARCHIVES: ICT special interview with Peggy Flanagan
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