Republican Senate candidate Michele Tafoya went right at Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan during Friday’s MPR News debate, demanding she take responsibility for the $9 billion in fraud that piled up under the Walz-Flanagan administration. It was the first, and possibly only, debate between the two general election candidates in Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race.
When moderator Brian Bakst asked Flanagan what ownership she takes for the fraud, given that she’s described herself as working “shoulder-to-shoulder” with Gov. Tim Walz, Flanagan did what Democrats do best: she pointed somewhere else. “The governor has been very clear that he, the buck stops with him. He was the one who had oversight here,” she said, before pivoting to paid family leave and school lunch programs. Classic.
Tafoya wasn’t buying it for a second. “This historic fraud happened under her watch, and suddenly she’s looking out for Medicaid and SNAP?” Tafoya said from the debate stage. “Sell it to someone else, Peggy.” That line alone was worth the price of admission. You can follow the Minnesota Senate debate for more from the exchange.
Flanagan spent a good chunk of the night trying to glue Tafoya to President Trump, mentioning his endorsement and claiming Tafoya had aligned with him on tariffs, immigration, healthcare, and the war in Iran. Tafoya cut that strategy off at the knees. “Peggy, Donald Trump isn’t on the ballot. You and I are on the ballot, and only one of us let $9 billion walk out the door to fraud,” she said. Then she twisted the knife: “She was second in charge in this state,” Tafoya continued, noting that Flanagan was happy to brag about her administration role until the fraud bill came due.
Tafoya also pushed back on the idea that she’s just a Trump rubber stamp, pointing out that she opposes his diesel purchase agreement with Russia and said the president “missed the mark” on it. She also said she’d vote to end the Iran war if elected. On abortion, Tafoya called herself a “pro-choice Republican” who supports reasonable access in the first trimester and said she has “no desire” to change Minnesota’s law as a senator. She acknowledged she’s taken heat from her own party over it, then turned the question back on Flanagan: “When has she stood up to Tim Walz or the far-left flank of the Democrat Party on anything? I’d like her to name one thing.”
Flanagan’s big answer? Biofuels. She said she supports year-round E15 and sustainable aviation fuel and isn’t “completely in line” with her party there. Tafoya fired back that Flanagan has also said she wants liquid fuels banned by 2040, and made sure everyone knew she carries the Minnesota Farm Bureau’s endorsement. When asked near the end whether she’d campaign alongside Walz in the final weeks, Flanagan said the race was “about Peggy Flanagan.” Bold claim from someone who spent most of the night trying to make it about Donald Trump.
The two candidates now head into the final stretch with Flanagan still trying to duck the fraud question and Tafoya happy to keep asking it. If the Lt. Gov. thinks “biofuels” is going to make voters forget $9 billion, she’s got a long few weeks ahead of her.
