Peggy Flanagan
Candidate for U.S. Senate
Trending
Summarize why you are running for office. What are your priorities?
I'm running for the United States Senate to help people afford the lives they want to live. I'm someone who grew up on the margins, feeling like the bottom could fall out at any moment. Raised by a hardworking single mom, we needed Medicaid, SNAP, and Section 8 housing to make it all work. I know firsthand that government can improve people's lives and give them a solid foundation. In the Senate, I'll fight to end prior authorization so some dude behind a desk - or even worse, an AI bot - can't deny care your doctor prescribed, and to pass Medicare for All so people can actually get health care, not just pay for health insurance. I'll fight to raise the federal minimum wage so one good job is enough, pass universal childcare, and ban Wall Street from buying up entire neighborhoods. And I'll take on the greedy corporations and billionaires who have far too much power in Washington. I'm the only candidate in this race not taking a dime of corporate PAC money because I want Minnesotans to know I only answer to them.
What can be done to protect the state from fraud?
Any amount of fraud is unacceptable. Minnesotans have a right to be angry about it, and so am I. I supported creating an independent inspector general and harsher penalties for fraudsters. In Minnesota, people who stole public money are being prosecuted and sent to prison. Ripping off taxpayers is wrong in Washington, too. While fraudsters are being sent to prison here, Donald Trump is pardoning them. He fired 18 inspectors general whose job was to uncover fraud and corruption. Then he pardoned more than 70 white-collar criminals - including a man responsible for $1.3 billion in Medicare and Medicaid fraud. In the Senate, I would restore the independent inspectors general Trump fired, prohibit members of Congress, the president and their family from trading individual stocks, extend strong conflict-of-interest and financial-disclosure rules to the president and the president's family, and establish enforceable ethics rules for the Supreme Court. Public office should be about serving people - not getting rich, rewarding donors with no-bid contracts, or trading on insider information.
What can be done to support agriculture?
Minnesota farmers are being squeezed from every direction right now: rising costs, labor shortages, trade disruptions, shrinking markets, and uncertainty coming out of Washington. Donald Trump's trade wars cost Minnesota farmers markets they spent decades building, and his illegal war in Iran sent fuel and fertilizer costs soaring - some farmers saw costs jump 40-50% in just a matter of weeks. Farmers don't want bailouts. They want customers, stable markets, predictable costs, and the ability to sell what they grow. In the Senate, I'll fight to rebuild and expand export markets, support strong biofuel markets, grow new opportunities like sustainable aviation fuel, and protect farmers' right to repair their own equipment. I'll fight for a Farm Bill that supports family farmers, not just the biggest operations, helps the next generation of farmers get started, and doesn't balance farm policy on the backs of hungry families. And because strong farms need strong communities, I'll fight to invest in rural development to expand access to affordable health care, childcare, housing, and broadband across Greater Minnesota.