Chuck Schumer just got slapped in the face by his own party, again.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan steamrolled moderate Rep. Angie Craig on Tuesday night in Minnesota's Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, delivering a crushing blow to Schumer's carefully laid plans, according to reports. And she didn't waste a single second before going full progressive firebrand during her victory speech.
Flanagan took the stage and immediately launched into a broadside against federal immigration enforcement. She declared that Trump's ICE agents are "terrorizing our communities" and vowed to "rip ICE apart." She also insisted it's possible to secure the border while creating a citizenship pathway that reflects progressive values. Not exactly the moderate messaging Schumer was hoping for in a purple state.
This primary turned into an all out brawl between the Democratic establishment and its socialist wing, and the socialists won. Flanagan ran on Medicare for All, opposition to military aid for Israel, and hammered Craig for supporting the Laken Riley Act. She turned ICE into her top campaign target following two fatal enforcement shootings in Minnesota that killed Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.
Her endorsement list reads like a progressive dream team. Bernie Sanders, Ilhan Omar, and retiring Sen. Tina Smith all backed her candidacy. Meanwhile, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who is running for governor, kept her mouth completely shut about the primary. That silence speaks volumes.
Here's the kicker, though. Craig had nearly double the cash. Federal Election Commission filings show Craig hauled in close to $13 million while Flanagan managed just under $7 million. And she still got demolished. That has to sting.
Sanders jumped on "Face the Nation" to defend his ally, claiming Flanagan represents real change and pointing fingers at super PACs and billionaires flooding Minnesota with cash.
Republicans? They are absolutely giddy right now. The National Republican Senatorial Committee called morale among Schumer's establishment crew "at an all time low" while Sanders' socialist faction fills the vacuum with candidates like Flanagan and Michigan's Abdul El-Sayed, who recently pulled off a similar upset.
GOP strategists also have a juicy attack line gift wrapped and ready. Flanagan served as Tim Walz's top deputy throughout Minnesota's massive social services fraud scandal, a controversy so damaging that it torpedoed Walz's own reelection bid. Yet somehow Flanagan emerged unscathed. Walz himself has refused to endorse anyone in this Senate contest.
NRSC Chairman Tim Scott singled out Minnesota as his most exciting opportunity this cycle, noting that Republican nominee Michele Tafoya, the former NFL sideline reporter, sits within a single point of Flanagan in current polling.
One GOP operative delivered perhaps the most devastating summary of Schumer's predicament. Having both Minnesota and Michigan suddenly competitive "was not on Chuck Schumer's bingo card this cycle," the operative said, wondering aloud which other battleground states Democrats will need to abandon in order to prop up their progressive nominees.
Schumer wanted safe, electable moderates. Instead he got progressive insurgents who might just hand Republicans seats they never dreamed of winning.
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