MN-Sen 2026: Smith retiring

[MargieCat]

A couple years ago, there was thread about predicting the next new senator from each state.

I and several others had Dean Phillips as the next senator.

He destroyed his goodwill with the Democratic party by speaking out about Biden. He was correct, but even so.

He was kind of obnoxious about it and floated running a unity ticket with Nikki Haley.

Had he stayed in congress and not been obnoxious, he'd be the frontrunner.

I think the new frontrunners are Angie Craig and Peggy Flanagan. I think Flanagan got a lot of name recognition when Walz was on the VP ticket.

Kelly Morrison wouldn't be a bad choice, but she just made it to congress. I prefer the former two.

Walz is supposedly considering a run. Not sure why. Most governors prefer being governors to senators, and it's not like he's termed out.

[Dwarven Dragon]

Also wonder how many people who’ll nudge Ilhan into running for the Senate are more interested in getting her out of the House

No, its just Republicans who want a chance to win a seat in MN. Omar has competitve primaries for her House seat so there no reason to try to run for a Senate seat against other established Democrats.

Also, I doubt she, Frost, Talib,Crockett or Casar could ever win statewide in their respective states. Their purely district politicians.

Only 3 members of the squad that could win statewide are Cortez, Pressley, and Underwood, iffy on Lee or Ramirez; which on Underwood I imagine becomes a reality once Durbin announces he's forgoing reelection this year.

Crockett won't be the first democrat to win in Texas, but she's young and can wait. She's straddled the line between appealing to uber-progressives while also not throwing the rest of the caucus overboard quite well (it's worth noting she hasn't actually joined the "Squad"), and can likely be nominated for anything she likes quite easily when the right time comes.

[JMT]

My guess is that Walz runs for a third term as Governor. If he runs for Senate, though, does Flanagan still go through with her planned Senate run? Or does she switch gears and run for Governor instead?

[Mr.Bakari-Sellers]

Flanagan is running for Senate no matter what she said

[ClassicElectionEnthusiast]

Flanagan is running for Senate no matter what she said

I would imagine there would be a lot of pressure on Flanagan to drop out if Tim Walz were to enter the race, though.

[Atlas Force]

If Craig and Chris Pappas are elected to the Senate that would triple the number of currently-serving LGBTQ+ Senators.

(I think there’d have to be like, four or five to match the overall percentage of LGBTQ+ Americans?)

[Mr.Bakari-Sellers]

If Craig and Chris Pappas are elected to the Senate that would triple the number of currently-serving LGBTQ+ Senators.

(I think there’d have to be like, four or five to match the overall percentage of LGBTQ+ Americans?)

Flanagan is in the race she would be formidable

[Roll Roons]

If Craig and Chris Pappas are elected to the Senate that would triple the number of currently-serving LGBTQ+ Senators.

(I think there’d have to be like, four or five to match the overall percentage of LGBTQ+ Americans?)

*Insert joke about Lindsey Graham.

[Rhode Islander First, American Second]

If Craig and Chris Pappas are elected to the Senate that would triple the number of currently-serving LGBTQ+ Senators.

(I think there’d have to be like, four or five to match the overall percentage of LGBTQ+ Americans?)

*Insert joke about Lindsey Graham.

South Carolina has made history for being the first state to have 2 gay senators serving simultaneously.

[Fight! Fight! Fight!]

As great as the visibility would be, I'd rather have a Democratic Senate of 60 with a lot of moderate-conservative Democrats making up that majority than a whole bunch of gay senators.  I'd trade in Pete Buttigieg and any other historic gay senators for more Dan Osborns and John Fettermans.  It's the sheer number of votes that matter, not the identities of individual senators.  To add "sexual orientation" to the civil rights act, you would need as many D senators as possible.

[wbrocks67]

https://twitter.com/AngieCraigMN/status/1891548569858888175

[Mr.Bakari-Sellers]

I think Flanagan will be the nominee

[ProgressiveModerate]

As great as the visibility would be, I'd rather have a Democratic Senate of 60 with a lot of moderate-conservative Democrats making up that majority than a whole bunch of gay senators.  I'd trade in Pete Buttigieg and any other historic gay senators for more Dan Osborns and John Fettermans.  It's the sheer number of votes that matter, not the identities of individual senators.  To add "sexual orientation" to the civil rights act, you would need as many D senators as possible.

I mean a Dem being gay doesn't mean they're not moderate or electable. Unless there's some skeletons we don't know off, Craig seems like one of the strongest possible candidates here - and I don't think electing her would make national Dem's brand any worse (I'd argue it'd probably be a very small net benefit).

[Big Zuck]

https://twitter.com/maxpcohen/status/1892013543727182051

[coloradocowboi]

As great as the visibility would be, I'd rather have a Democratic Senate of 60 with a lot of moderate-conservative Democrats making up that majority than a whole bunch of gay senators.  I'd trade in Pete Buttigieg and any other historic gay senators for more Dan Osborns and John Fettermans.  It's the sheer number of votes that matter, not the identities of individual senators.  To add "sexual orientation" to the civil rights act, you would need as many D senators as possible.

This is so strange to me. I’m hearing a lot more of this kind of talk on atlas and dk what to even say. For one thing, while I lament the politicization of trans issues, homosexuality is less political than ever. Not only are gay rights moderate politics, but Buttigieg is arguably problematic above all else because he has rocketed to the center in exchange for corporate donations and support. Even with the past month’s BS, fetterman is still more progressive than Pete lol. Arguably Osborn would be too.

Craig will also likely set herself up as the moderate in this contest. Which imo is misreading the primary electorate’s mood. People are gonna want a strong contrast and I think Flanagan seems better poised to capitalize on that, and also Walz tho hopefully he doesn’t get in.

[Mr.Bakari-Sellers]

I knew Flanagan was gonna win

[These birds not meant to fly alone]

https://twitter.com/maxpcohen/status/1892013543727182051

Woah, that's a way bigger gap than I expected. I mean, both would make great Senators, but it looks like Flanagan has a huge advantage. I'm sure Craig believes she could close the gap, but is it really worth it to tear down another Democrat just to thin out the margins in a primary?

[Unbeatable Titan Susan Collins]

Hello new John Fetterman v. Connor Lamb

[Citizen (The) Doctor]

Is there reasonably much difference between them policywise?

[wbrocks67]

Is there reasonably much difference between them policywise?

I really don't think so; some leftists seem to think Craig is some evil moderate but she seems completely fine and like a typical mainstream Dem.

[falling apart like the ashes of American flags]

Is there reasonably much difference between them policywise?

Not a whole lot, but Craig did vote for the Laken Riley Act which I have no doubt Flanagan would vote against.

[Minnesota Mike]

Is there reasonably much difference between them policywise?

Flannagan is more progressive than Craig, how much more is open to argument. Flannagan was picked by Walz to be LG in 2018 as an outreach to the progressive wing of the party who viewed Walz with suspicion.

[Minnesota Mike]

As for the PPP poll I wouldn't put to much stock in it. Due to the timing and what was released pretty sure this is a Flannigan internal. So much needs to be determined before primary polls mean anything, who is running, who abides by the DFL endorsement process etc. Right now Flannagan having been elected statewide twice (on Walz coattails) probably is benefitting from name recognition. I would still put Craig ahead of Flannigan on the list of likely nominees.

[ponderosa peen 🌲]

I know Lt Gov is typically an invisible job but Flanagan having a big edge on Craig really reads like name ID advantage to me. Lt Gov against a congressperson is statewide versus local-ish, and Flanagan probably got more exposure than a typical Lt Gov last year because of Walz potentially leaving office.

Plenty of time for Craig to narrow that gap. Smart play for her would be very, very aggressive and outspoken against Trump/Musk and try to harness the national disaffection that a lot of people aren't seeing out of mainstream congressional D figures.

[JMT]

https://twitter.com/northernnewsnow/status/1892335245581496656?s=46&t=-r8JGl...