Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan has fought for paid leave, affordable childcare, and the minimum wage. Now she’s taking that fight to Washington
The Minnesota lieutenant governor and Ojibwe citizen is running to make history as the first Native American woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate — and she’s doing it one bedtime conversation at a time.
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Peggy Flanagan grew up as the kid with the different-colored school lunch ticket, the one that let everyone around her know she got free lunch. Her mother, a single mom and DFL activist, raised her in St. Louis Park, Minnesota on food stamps, Section 8 housing, and childcare assistance. That upbringing didn’t just shape her politics. It became her politics.
Today, Flanagan is the Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, an Ojibwe citizen of the White Earth Nation, and a candidate for the U.S. Senate. If elected, she would be the first Native American woman ever to serve in that body. She has already won the DFL party endorsement by acclamation, backed by more than 5,000 volunteers and endorsements from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Ilhan Omar, and former Sen. Tina Smith.
She is also a mom. Her daughter Siobhan is a theater kid who negotiated the terms of this campaign before it launched: yes to running for Senate, non-negotiable on mom-and-daughter time. Siobhan now volunteers at the campaign office on weekends. Flanagan is quick to point out that only four mothers with kids under 18 are currently serving in the U.S. Senate. She thinks that explains a lot about the outcomes we keep seeing for families.
We asked her what it looks like to run for Senate while still making it to every curtain call.
To read more profiles of moms running for office in 2026, click here
The quick stats:
- Location: St. Louis Park, MN
- Office she’s running for: U.S. Senate (Minnesota)
- Kids’ age(s): 13
- First time running for Senate?: Yes
- Website
What does a typical campaign day look like for you — and where does your family fit into it?
A typical campaign day looks a little bit different every day. I check in with my campaign manager in the morning, we do some grassroots fundraising during the day, sometimes I have press interviews, and then my favorite part is that we usually do an event in the community.
One of my favorite things about running for office is meeting people all across the state of Minnesota — people who share their hopes and dreams, their stories of struggle, but also of triumph.
We just secured the DFL Party endorsement after organizing for it for months, and it was really powerful to be on stage and look out at the thousands of people who were there, knowing that I had relationships with most of the people in that room — folks who are galvanized to fight for universal childcare, for Medicare for All, and for ensuring that people can afford the lives they want to live.
That’s the work. It’s a little bit different every day, but it always includes people, and it always includes building power around the issues that we care about.
What’s something about running for office that you didn’t expect — and that you wish someone had warned you about?
It’s something we all understand, but until I was in it, I didn’t realize just how much influence corporate PACs, extremist billionaires, and folks who frankly have no idea what it’s like to try to stretch twenty bucks through the end of the month have over our politics.
These are people who don’t know what it’s like to figure out a patchwork of childcare and summer camps to make sure your kids are occupied during the summer. They’re far removed from the struggles that so many people are facing.
That’s why I’m not taking a dime of corporate PAC money. I want to be beholden only to the people of Minnesota. It’s why I’m endorsed by End Citizens United, and I’m the only candidate in this race who can say that.
I also think what I wish someone would have warned me about is just how much there is to do and how little time there is to do it. We launched our campaign over a year ago, but the closer we get to the primary, the more I realize how much we rely on this incredible team of volunteers — more than 5,000 of them — and all the folks who are part of Team Peggy. That allows me to focus on talking to voters, raising money, and getting our message out there.
Has being a mother shaped how you think about the issues you’re running on? If so, how?
Being a mom has shaped everything about this campaign and our priorities.
I fought to raise the minimum wage when I was executive director of Children’s Defense Fund Minnesota. I co-chaired that campaign, and I remember watching my daughter sleep one night when we were in a really difficult spot with the Legislature. We had a tough fight on our hands. Folks wanted us to compromise — to raise the minimum wage a couple bucks, but not fight for indexing it to inflation. I remember looking at my baby sleeping, as I think so many people do, and thinking about how hard it was for my mom as a single mom to raise me on her own. I thought about how many families all across the state of Minnesota worry about keeping food on the table, a roof over their children’s heads, and are struggling every day.
That’s when I decided to call my mom. Right after I left my baby’s room, she reminded me that we needed more fighters when she was raising me. She fully expected me to go in there and fight for $9.50 plus indexing. And we won that fight. Now the minimum wage has gone up every year for the last decade. I think that’s the kind of fight we can bring to Washington, D.C.
I also remember my daughter when she was still small enough to sit on my hip. I was one of the co-founders of Minnesotans for Paid Family and Medical Leave. I was really lucky to have an employer who gave me paid leave so I could bond with my baby and not have to worry about collecting a paycheck. Too many people worry about that every day. So we fought for paid family and medical leave. I worked on it as an advocate, then as a legislator, and eventually we got it across the finish line. When I was lieutenant governor, tens of thousands of people have taken advantage of paid family leave here in the state of Minnesota. It’s something we need to do nationally, too.
And the biggest raise I ever received was the day my daughter started kindergarten — all-day kindergarten. What that meant was that I no longer needed to pay for childcare before school and after school, and that was a big relief for our family. But if we don’t have good partners at the federal level, we will never achieve affordable childcare for every person in this state and every person in this country who needs it.
And there are only four moms with kids under the age of 18 serving in the United States Senate. And boy, can’t you tell by some of the outcomes we see for families across this country? When you add moms to the decision-making table, everybody benefits. That’s why I’m so proud and honored to be endorsed by Vote Mama, and why I know that I will have their back and they will have mine in Washington, D.C.
What has been the hardest sacrifice your family has made for this campaign — and how have you handled that as a parent?
When we decided to run for the U.S. Senate — and I say we and not just me because it was a family decision — we had to get pretty clear about some things.
My daughter asked me, “Mom, if this is your campaign, are you in charge?” And I said, “Yes.” Then she asked, “And mom-and-daughter time is still mom-and-daughter time?” And I said, “Absolutely.” We’ve been able to hold that time sacred, and I’m really, really proud of that.
Then she asked, “Do you think you can help more people if you’re in the U.S. Senate?” I said, “Yes, I do.” And she said, “I think you should do it, Mom.”
This has absolutely been something that my family has taken on together. My daughter volunteers at the campaign office. My husband is a surrogate all across the state of Minnesota and honestly keeps things moving on the home front.
But I think the most important time every single day for me is bedtime. My daughter and I have our best conversations when I tuck her in. That is our sacred time, where we get to visit, catch up on the day, and talk about what’s most important to us. That’s how I’ve navigated this as a parent.
And as you can imagine, Minnesota has felt a lot of tragedy over the last year. Navigating through that as a statewide elected official and as a candidate for the U.S. Senate is one thing. Navigating through that as a parent is another. I’ve been able to show up for my daughter, who is absolutely aware of what is happening in her state and in this country. We talk about it. And we remind ourselves that our responsibility is to be kind to our neighbors, to show up and help each other however we can, and to remember that our responsibility is to always do the next good thing we can for each other.
What would you want your kids to take away from watching you do this?
I want my daughter to know that she can do anything. And she especially can do anything if she builds a team of people around her who share the same values — making sure everyone has an opportunity and that people can afford the lives they want to live.
Native women and moms have been leaders since time immemorial. It’s just the rest of society that’s catching up to us.
What I also want my child — and other children — to know is that negative political ads, attack ads, and deepfake AI-generated images shouldn’t be taken personally. Turn off the TV and do something kind for another human being. Our children need to be raised to be good digital citizens. That starts with conversations about why this matters, why we have to tell the truth, and why talking to voters directly is one of the most powerful things we can do.
And I’m the mom of a theater kid. So I also want her to know that I will always do my best to get to every performance, cheer her on, and do everything possible to make sure she can achieve her dreams while I work hard to win this Senate race.
Peggy is endorsed by Vote Mama, an organization dedicated to breaking down the structural barriers that keep moms out of office — and building the kind of political power that actually reflects the realities of American family life. Learn more about Peggy here.
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