Trump-backed ex-NFL reporter loses Senate race to progressive who vowed to ‘rip ICE apart’

Progressives scored a major victory in Minnesota, a state heavily targeted by the Trump administration in its immigration and anti-fraud crackdowns.

Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, the Democratic nominee, toppled former NFL sideline reporter and Republican nominee Michele Tafoya, stifling the GOP’s hopes of flipping the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

While her win over Tafoya, who was backed by President Donald Trump, is a positive for Democrats in their pursuit of power in the upper chamber, it’s not necessarily a negative for Republicans, given that the seat was already blue.

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Flanagan’s victory comes after the state of Minnesota and her former running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, were directly in the Trump administration’s crosshairs for the sprawling, multibillion-dollar daycare fraud scandal that erupted earlier this year.

Given that several Somali immigrants were linked to the scandal, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) descended upon the state to enact Operation Metro Surge. That resulted in the deaths of two Minnesota residents, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, at the hands of federal immigration agents.

ICE’s actions in the state led to yet another government shutdown in Washington, D.C., and became a pointed rallying cry for her campaign and ammunition she used on the trail.

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“We need to rip ICE apart and stop them from terrorizing our communities,” Flanagan said shortly after winning her primary earlier this year. “And I know this. I know that we can fix our broken immigration system, secure the border, and create a real pathway to citizenship that aligns with our values.”

Much of Tafoya’s campaign hinged on what role Flanagan played in the Minnesota fraud scheme and just how much she knew as a top official in the state.

“My opponent has been second in command in this state for eight years, drawing a taxpayer-funded paycheck,” Tafoya said at a debate last month. “And what do we have to show for that? We have massive fraud, historic fraud. We have test scores down. We have crime spiking. We have a massive surplus turned into a deficit.”

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Flanagan, however, has shifted much of the blame for the scandal onto Walz and countered that “he was the one who had oversight here.”

“The governor has been very clear that the buck stops with him,” Flanagan said.

Her win could also be a double-edged sword for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his ambition to stay on as leader of Senate Democrats.

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Flanagan, like other progressive Democratic candidates, has actively run away from and criticized Schumer, arguing that Democrats need change at the leadership level.

“People want big, bold change,” Flanagan told The New York Times. “They are sick of nibbling around the edges.”