Peggy Flanagan Seeks Senate Seat as Potential First Native Woman Senator
Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, positioning herself as the possible first Native American woman in the chamber.
Peggy Flanagan, the Democratic lieutenant governor of Minnesota and an Ojibwe from the White Earth Nation, clinched the party's Senate primary. She emphasized that no Native American woman has ever held a seat in the U.S. Senate in its 250-year history, framing her candidacy as a breakthrough. The piece revisits former Senator Elizabeth Warren's disputed assertions of Cherokee and broader Native heritage, including a contested genetic study and an apology to the Cherokee Nation.
Historically, only four Native men have served in the Senate—Robert Owen, Charles Curtis, Ben Nighthorse Campbell, and Markwayne Mullin, who now leads the Department of Homeland Security. Flanagan's victory sets the stage for a potential historic first if she wins the general election.
Why it matters
The race could produce the Senate's first Native American woman, marking a milestone for representation.
In this story
