To: Interested Parties
From: Kevin Holst, Executive Director, DLGA
Re: How the DLGA Helped Peggy Flanagan Win the Democratic Nomination in Minnesota
Peggy Flanagan is the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Minnesota – and the DLGA played a defining role in making it happen.
From the first ad of the primary to the last, the DLGA set the terms of this race. We defined Angie Craig’s record before anyone else did, we stayed on the air longer than any other outside player, and we out-organized and out-argued a $20 million dark money campaign built to buy the seat for Craig. Minnesota Democrats chose Peggy Flanagan, and the DLGA was proud to play a defining role in making that happen.
The DLGA defined this race in May, before anyone else was even on the air
Every other outside group was still sitting on the sidelines when the DLGA moved first. In May, we started our investment behind “Mary,” an ad that emotionally resonated deeply with the community that lived through Operation Metro Surge. It was our first investment in the race, and the first ad of the entire primary. It introduced Minnesota voters to Angie Craig’s immigration record months before Craig’s allies said a word in response. The spot featured Mary Granlund, a Minnesotan who watched ICE agents seize five-year-old Liam Ramos in Columbia Heights – a case that became a national symbol of Trump’s mass-deportation cruelty – and tied that moment directly to Craig’s own voting record: she was the only Democrat in Minnesota’s congressional delegation to vote for the Laken Riley Act, and she later voted for a resolution thanking ICE. That record – one Craig that herself admitted included voting with Republican Tom Emmer nearly half the time – became the defining issue of the primary because the DLGA made it one.
The DLGA stayed on the air through Election Day, matching and exceeding the campaign’s own investment to get it done.
The DLGA sustained the pressure for the entire primary, running four total ads and investing at least $3.15 million across broadcast, cable, mail, and digital. That is more than the Flanagan campaign spent on paid communications itself. Here’s the full rundown:
1. “Mary” (May) — Introduced Craig’s ICE record to Minnesota voters through Mary Granlund’s account of the Liam Ramos detention, months ahead of any other outside spending in the race.
2. “Bankrolled” (July 9) — Exposed the Trump donors, cryptocurrency industry, and AI tech billionaires funding Craig’s campaign, and tied her fundraising to her Laken Riley Act vote. Brought the DLGA’s total investment to $2.2 million at the time.
3. “Fighter” (late July) — Featured Senators Tina Smith, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders making the closing case for Flanagan as the candidate who would stand up to the billionaire class and fight for working families.
4. “Stand Up” (late July) — A second closing-argument spot pairing the same three senators, reinforcing Flanagan’s support from the leaders working Minnesotans trust most, and drawing the starkest possible contrast with Craig’s dark money coalition.
While the DLGA never stopped with Craig definition, the two closing ads comprised 75% of our broadcast, cable, and digital spend in the final three weeks of the race. The DLGA was making the affirmative case for Flanagan, backed by sitting U.S. senators, all the way to the finish line.
Craig’s allies spent $20 million to stop Peggy. They failed.
Dark money groups aligned with Craig spent over $20 million trying to buy this primary. Their negative ad’s most consistent message was a direct attack on the DLGA. It backfired. Over the course of the summer, as the pro-Angie outside spending escalated from $10 million to $12 million to $20 million, Flanagan’s lead didn’t shrink – it leapt from 7 points in June (43-36) to 11 points in July (50-39). She closed the race with a +35 net favorable rating, even after months of sustained negative spending against her.
While Craig’s Super PACs threw every message they could at the wall to see what would stick, the DLGA stayed disciplined in our messaging, our targeting, and our mobilization. We knew we could be outspent and still win handedly, because we knew what would resonate with the electorate, where to reach them, and what would get them to the polls.
The Bottom Line
Angie Craig and her outside allies spent over $20 million in this primary and still lost. The DLGA is the reason why: we defined this race in May, stayed on the air longer than anyone else, put Craig’s record on trial with Minnesota voters, and gave Peggy Flanagan the air cover of Senators Tina Smith, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders when it mattered most.
This is exactly what the DLGA exists to do as the only organization of its kind with a dedicated program to build the Democratic bench and back its members as they run for higher office. Flanagan’s win builds on our investment in Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton’s U.S. Senate race, and sets the stage for further investments by the DLGA in support of our Democratic Lt. Governors in their runs for higher office.