Schumer Suffers Another Primary Loss As Socialists Beat Establishment Favorite

Far-left Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan cruised to victory in Tuesday’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary, defeating Rep. Angie Craig and delivering another setback to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s establishment wing.

Flanagan wasted little time making clear that her progressive agenda would remain front and center in the general election, using her victory speech to renew her push to dismantle Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Now let’s talk about Donald Trump’s out of control ICE force,” Flanagan said Tuesday night.

“We need to rip ICE apart and stop them from terrorizing our communities. 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,” she declared.

The result marked another victory for the Democratic Party’s progressive insurgency over its more moderate establishment. Craig had the backing of Schumer, while Flanagan drew support from prominent progressives, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.

Flanagan made opposition to President Donald Trump’s immigration policies a defining issue of her campaign. She also attacked Craig over her previous support for the Laken Riley Act, a vote Craig later said she regretted.

Her victory comes shortly after another progressive, Abdul El-Sayed, narrowly defeated establishment-backed Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, giving Republicans ammunition to argue that the Democratic Party is moving further left ahead of November.

Republicans quickly seized on Flanagan’s nomination.

“Morale among Chuck Schumer’s establishment is at an all-time low, and Bernie Sanders’ socialist flank is filling the gap with candidates like Peggy Flanagan and Abdul El-Sayed,” National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesperson Bernadette Breslin told Fox News Digital.

Flanagan’s progressive credentials extend beyond immigration. She has supported Medicare for All and taken positions critical of continued U.S. military assistance to Israel. Sanders, one of her most prominent allies, defended her campaign over the weekend as a challenge to wealthy political interests.

“Peggy Flanagan is about bringing about real change, standing up to the big money interests,” Sanders said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

“There is a reason why the super PACs and the billionaires are flooding Minnesota with all kinds of money. Same thing as Michigan,” he added.

Money was a significant factor in the primary. Craig raised substantially more than Flanagan during the campaign, but the financial advantage was not enough to overcome the progressive enthusiasm behind the lieutenant governor.

Republicans also plan to make Minnesota’s sprawling fraud controversies an issue in the general election. Flanagan has served as Gov. Tim Walz’s lieutenant governor throughout his administration, which faced intense scrutiny over fraud involving state-administered programs. A congressional staff report released this year sharply criticized the Walz administration’s handling of fraud warnings.

Waiting for Flanagan in November will be Republican nominee Michele Tafoya, the former NFL sideline reporter. The matchup gives Republicans an opportunity to test whether Minnesota’s progressive shift has created an opening in a state Democrats have dominated in U.S. Senate elections for years.

National Republicans are already expressing optimism about the race. NRSC Chairman Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., has highlighted Minnesota as a potential pickup opportunity and argued that Tafoya can compete by drawing a sharp contrast with Flanagan.

The Minnesota result also creates another potential resource problem for national Democrats. With progressive nominees now emerging in both Minnesota and Michigan, Republicans hope Democrats will be forced to spend heavily defending seats that party leaders may once have expected to hold more comfortably.

“Minnesota and Michigan being in play was not on Chuck Schumer’s bingo card this cycle,” a GOP operative told Fox News Digital.

“It remains to be seen which battleground(s) Democrats will have to pull resources from to drag socialists like Peggy Flanagan and Abdul El-Sayed across the finish line in November,” the operative added.

The November contest is now set: Flanagan, an unapologetic progressive calling for ICE to be dismantled, against Tafoya, the Republican hoping to capitalize on concerns over immigration, state government controversies and Minnesota Democrats’ leftward turn.