Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey weighed into the Minnesota Senate race with an endorsement for the Democratic primary‘s more centrist candidate, Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN), ahead of the state’s Aug. 11 primaries.
“Angie is relentless,” Frey wrote in his endorsement statement. “She’s tough, she’s tested, and she is exactly who we need in Washington. I met Angie while working in furtherance of marriage equality. She was a fighter for justice then, and will never quit fighting for what’s right.”
Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan are the two major contenders for the Democratic primary in Minnesota’s Senate race to fill the vacancy that will be left by retiring Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN). Craig, the more centrist candidate in the race, is backed by party leadership in Washington and Minnesota’s Democratic establishment, while Flanagan has the backing of the leftist wing of the party, including Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
By backing Craig, Frey is falling in line with the centrist, establishment side of the party, echoing the role he played in his last election, when he faced a primary challenge from socialist candidate Omar Fateh.
“Minneapolis needs a partner who can deliver on everything from affordable housing to safety, and a champion who will hold the powerful accountable and stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Minnesota facing the tough challenges ahead,” Frey said in the statement.
Frey, who has served as mayor of Minneapolis since 2018, was thrust into the national spotlight on several occasions over the last several months, including a fatal shooting at a local Catholic church, the fraud epidemic running through Minnesota, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s crackdown in Minneapolis. The Trump administration’s immigration enforcement campaign in the Twin Cities brought national attention when federal immigration and border officers killed two American citizens, making Frey a local fixture of Democrats’ fight against the Trump administration.
The mayor has gone back and forth between being seen as an establishment Democrat and a progressive Democrat throughout his career in the Twin Cities. But by backing Craig, Frey is, in part, reasserting his commitment to the establishment after his year in the national spotlight as the Democratic Party struggles with its identity in the 2026 election season.
VANCE GOES AFTER CRAIG FOR MINNESOTA’S FRAUD RECORD: ‘FIGHTING SO HARD TO HIDE THE DATA’
As socialist candidates win primaries across cities including New York and Washington, swing states have yet to see how well these candidates can succeed statewide. In Minnesota, the Trump administration’s immigration policies and Democrats’ affordability agenda have taken center stage in the state’s Democratic Senate primary. Flanagan has led in many of the early primary polls, though Craig has peaked to lead by single digits in some recent surveys.
Former NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya is leading in the crowded GOP race to be the party’s nominee for the state’s Senate seat. The Cook Political Report lists the general election as “likely Democratic.”