{"id":41565,"date":"2026-08-12T20:28:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T15:28:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=41565"},"modified":"2026-08-12T20:28:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T15:28:02","slug":"flanagan-campaign-dogged-by-her-role-during-massive-minnesota-fraud-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=41565","title":{"rendered":"Flanagan campaign dogged by her role during massive Minnesota fraud scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div id=\"beyondwords-wrapper\" data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"beyondwords-wrapper\">\n<p><span class=\"label-bg\">NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">Minnesota&#8217;s new Democratic nominee for Senate has baggage heading into the November election: the massive fraud scandal that rippled through the Land of 10,000 Lakes happened right under her nose. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan scored a major win for the insurgent progressive movement that&#8217;s reshaping the Democratic Party from the outside on Tuesday, toppling the more moderate Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., in the process. But her role during the Minnesota fraud scandal has plagued her campaign, with both sides attacking her on the issue.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">It became Craig&#8217;s prime line of attack against her.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;The lieutenant governor, even as we sit here today, continues to take absolutely no accountability for any of the fraud issues, and she continues to blame the governor,&#8221; Craig said during a debate with Flanagan on <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_2888045\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mprnews.org\/story\/2026\/07\/27\/angie-craig-peggy-flanagan-senate-race-debate-hosted-by-mpr-news\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Minnesota Public Radio.<\/a> &#8220;And I&#8217;m going to be honest: It&#8217;s pissing me off.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_2888046\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/peggy-flanagan-vows-rip-ice-apart-toppling-moderate-dem-key-senate-battle\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>PEGGY FLANAGAN VOWS TO &#8216;RIP ICE APART&#8217; AFTER TOPPLING MODERATE DEM IN KEY SENATE BATTLE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/343\/192\/peggy-flanagan-fraud-tafoya.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/686\/384\/peggy-flanagan-fraud-tafoya.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/672\/378\/peggy-flanagan-fraud-tafoya.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1344\/756\/peggy-flanagan-fraud-tafoya.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/931\/523\/peggy-flanagan-fraud-tafoya.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1862\/1046\/peggy-flanagan-fraud-tafoya.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/720\/405\/peggy-flanagan-fraud-tafoya.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1440\/810\/peggy-flanagan-fraud-tafoya.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1200\/675\/peggy-flanagan-fraud-tafoya.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>Minnesota Democratic Senate nominee Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan is riding the progressive wave this midterm election cycle, but before handing moderates a resounding defeat, she had a front row seat to the sprawling fraud scandal in her home state.\u00a0<\/span> <span>(Stephen Maturen\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">During the campaign, Craig charged that Flanagan had largely shrugged off responsibility for the fraud scandal, despite having served alongside Walz as his No. 2 since the pair were first elected in 2018.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">In an interview with the Minnesota Reformer, Flanagan said, &#8220;The governor has said that the buck stops with him, and he took the lead here,&#8221; on the fraud scandal.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Notably, Flanagan did not mention fraud during her victory speech Tuesday night, instead focusing on hallmarks of her campaign thus far, such as vowing to &#8220;rip [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] apart&#8221; following the deadly shootings in Minnesota earlier this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Still, the scandal torpedoed Walz&#8217;s re-election hopes, and Republicans plan to lean into it in the weeks leading up to Nov. 3.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_2888047\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/outkick-sports\/hall-famer-tony-dungy-endorses-michele-tafoya-crowded-minnesota-republican-primary-us-senate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>HALL OF FAMER TONY DUNGY ENDORSES MICHELE TAFOYA IN CROWDED MINNESOTA REPUBLICAN PRIMARY FOR U.S. SENATE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Her opponent, former NFL sideline reporter <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_2888049\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/outkick-sports\/hall-famer-tony-dungy-endorses-michele-tafoya-crowded-minnesota-republican-primary-us-senate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Michele Tafoya,<\/a> has already pounced on the opportunity several times this election season and did so again shortly after being crowned the Republican nominee for Senate.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;Minnesotans of every political stripe are fed up. They&#8217;re exhausted with this fraud,&#8221; Tafoya told a Minnesota Fox affiliate.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;We cannot show our children that failure comes without accountability,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;We&#8217;ve got to have accountability, but more than that, we&#8217;ve got to do things, everything we do, to make Minnesota more livable, more affordable, more safe, and without fraud, and we&#8217;re gonna do that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">National Republicans are confident that she could win big in November.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">While Minnesota is not on the NRSC\u2019s target map of eight <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_2888050\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/politics\/elections\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">battleground seats,<\/a> Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who chairs the committee, believes Tafoya is a serious contender to Democrats, who have held both Senate seats since 2009.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;The one thing that gets me excited when I think about this election cycle on the map is Minnesota,&#8221; Scott told CNN. &#8220;I think Minnesota, we have a real shot with Michele Tafoya.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_2888051\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/republicans-get-democrat-wanted-socialist-abdul-el-sayed-wins-michigan-senate-primary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>REPUBLICANS GET THE DEMOCRAT THEY WANTED AS SOCIALIST ABDUL EL-SAYED WINS MICHIGAN SENATE PRIMARY<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/343\/192\/tafoya-flanagan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/686\/384\/tafoya-flanagan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/672\/378\/tafoya-flanagan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1344\/756\/tafoya-flanagan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/931\/523\/tafoya-flanagan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1862\/1046\/tafoya-flanagan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/720\/405\/tafoya-flanagan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1440\/810\/tafoya-flanagan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1200\/675\/tafoya-flanagan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"Michele Tafoya and Peggy Flanagan\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>Michele Tafoya says Peggy Flanagan represents a shift toward &#8220;Democrat socialism&#8221; in Minnesota.<\/span> <span>(Fox News Digital; Stephen Maturen\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Republicans also see Tafoya\u2019s more moderate leanings as a positive heading into November.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">A GOP operative told Fox News Digital that she\u2019s seen as a candidate who can unite swing, moderate and MAGA voters in a winning coalition.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;Tafoya has the power to appeal to a broader electorate that\u2019s starving for authenticity,&#8221; the operative said. &#8220;Her career as a sideline reporter for NBC\u2019s \u2018Sunday Night Football\u2019 makes her relatable to a mainstream crowd.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Her position on abortion, for example, could attract swing voters.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">In an open letter to Minnesotans, Tafoya wrote that, as a senator, she would oppose taxpayer-funded abortions, support conservative, strict-constructionist judges and remain &#8220;completely aligned with President Donald Trump on this issue.&#8221; She also expressed support for the Dobbs decision.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">But she won\u2019t support a total ban on abortion.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;I do not support an outright ban on abortion, and I believe there should be reasonable access in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy,&#8221; Tafoya wrote. &#8220;Further, I believe that states who restrict access to fertility treatments like IVF are also acting wrongly \u2014 being pro-family is pro-life.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p> <!----> <!----> <\/p>\n<div class=\"article-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-bio\">\n<p>Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Minnesota&#8217;s new Democratic nominee for Senate has baggage heading into the November election: the massive fraud scandal that rippled through the Land of 10,000 Lakes happened right under her nose. \u00a0 Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan scored a major win for the insurgent progressive movement that&#8217;s reshaping the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/peggy-flanagan-fraud-tafoya.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41565"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41565\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/41566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}