Photo by Deb Gau Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan met with area residents during a DFL fall fundraiser in rural Granite Falls on Saturday.

GRANITE FALLS — Speakers at a Democratic-Farmer-Labor event this weekend said there are lots of concerns facing the country, from tariffs to health care costs. But Democrats couldn’t run on just the things they opposed, speakers said.

“It is time to be loud and clear about what it is that we are fighting against, and what it is that we are fighting for,” said Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan.

At a Congressional District 7 DFL fundraiser Saturday in rural Granite Falls, both Flanagan and U.S. Rep. Angie Craig said Democrats needed to be able to communicate with voters about what they stood for.

Speakers at the event included Flanagan and Craig, who are running for Tina Smith’s seat in the U.S. Senate and Erik Osberg, who is running for Congress against U.S. Rep. Michelle Fischbach in CD 7.

Four candidates running for Minnesota State Auditor, including former Duluth City Council member Zack Filipovich, Tonka Bay Mayor Adam Jennings, former Fergus Falls Mayor Ben Schierer and Minnesota state Rep. Dan Wolgamott, also spoke at the event.

Craig and Flanagan said there were some serious concerns facing Minnesota residents, from families and small business owners to farmers.

“I can tell you that we have not seen anything like what we are starting to see in this country,” Craig said. “We are at a critical turning point with Donald Trump’s across-the-board tariffs, with his $20 billion bailout to Argentina with U.S. taxpayer dollars, his decimation of the soybean markets, and many more across this country.” The U.S. was facing an affordability crisis, Craig said.

Craig said Minnesota Democrats had a chance to show their neighbors that the DFL supported them. “This is an opportunity to stand up for our family farmers across this country,” she said.

Flanagan said the Trump administration and billionaires were “ransacking our government.”

“They’re taking literal health care for people, and food off of the table, and in service of what? Tax breaks for folks at the very, very top who do not need them. And that should be unacceptable,” Flanagan said.

“We need to bring back checks and balances,” Osberg said. He said it was one reason that he was running for Congress. “We need to rein in executive power back to constitutional levels.”

Flanagan said Democrats needed a vision, that included access to affordable health care, immigration reform, and due process for all.

“When we see our neighbors being literally disappeared off of the street, what we need is comprehensive immigration reform that is based in humanity and dignity, and hard-working people who make Minnesota work have an ability to become citizens,” she said.

Speakers said Democratic candidates could win in upcoming elections, but it would take work and communication. Craig, Flanagan and Osberg all said it was important to be present to listen to Minnesotans.

Osberg said he has been visiting with CD 7 residents across 38 counties since he announced his campaign in March.

“This is our 90th event,” he said of the CD 7 fundraiser. “What I’ve heard from people is, they just wish that their representatives were A, accessible, and B, responsive. So that’s my pledge to you folks, is we will be accessible. We will be responsive.”

“We are kidding ourselves if we think this is just about 2026,” Flanagan told area Democrats. “This is about 2028 and 2030 and 2032, and what we are building together. To say there are Democrats and people who share our values all across the state of Minnesota, and we simply have to invite them in.”