Peggy Flanagan is poised to make history in Tim Walz's wake
As the country's highest-ranking Indigenous woman in executive elected office, Minnesota's lieutenant governor could continue breaking barriers if her boss ends up vice president
It's been just a few weeks since Vice President Kamala Harris announced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as her running mate to take on Donald Trump and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) for the White House in November. Almost immediately after declaring the Democratic ticket, the national spotlight quickly swung toward the North Star state as interested parties across the political spectrum delved into the professional and personal record of the newly anointed candidate. But while the avuncular Walz may have captured electoral lightning in a bottle with his exhortations against alleged GOP "weirdness," it's Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota's lieutenant governor, who is poised to make potential history.
From her beginnings as a community organizer and member of the Minneapolis Board of Education to her viral fame for singing Prince's "Purple Rain" on the Minnesota House floor where she served for several years, Flanagan has long been a fixture of Minnesota politics. A member of the White Earth band of Ojibwe, Flanagan became just the second Native woman to land a speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention in 2016, and is currently the "highest ranking Native woman elected to executive office" in the nation, according to her state biography.
With Walz potentially swapping the governor's mansion in St. Paul for the Naval Observatory in D.C., Flanagan could become the nation's first Indigenous woman governor should the Democrats win in November.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
'Open to doing things in better ways'
As a state lawmaker, Flanagan was known for championing "legislation that benefited children, the poor, and people of color," and helping to "launch the state's first POCI (People of Color and Indigenous) Caucus," The Nation said. After joining the Walz administration as his lieutenant governor in 2018, Flanagan "established the country's first Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office," and increased "cash, food and child care assistance to low-income families," Politico said. Along with Walz, she also "pushed for the highest child tax credit in the country, which Walz signed into law," The New Republic said.
As Minnesota continues to incorporate "tribal consultation into numerous aspects of the state government" many of the state's tribal leaders "point to Flanagan as the driving force behind these changes, as well as a significant rise in respect for tribal sovereignty and autonomy in state policy," The Associated Press said. She has also used her time as lieutenant governor to include Native history and culture in state classrooms.
“When you don’t see yourself reflected in your teachers or curriculum, there is an impact," Flanagan said at Sahan Journal. "To be really candid, it made me feel like I was invisible in my own classroom."
Flanagan "won't be afraid to be open to doing things in better ways that are more reflective of our values and of the reality of what a Minnesotan looks like," said Minnesota State Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn (D) to the Journal.
'Tell the truth, even if it makes people uncomfortable'
Flanagan has also courted controversy, particularly around issues related to reproductive health and gender-affirming care. Last year she was singled out by the Republican National Committee for insisting parents trust children when they "tell us who they are."
Minnesota Democrat Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan on an executive order "protecting" access to "gender affirming care," such as sex changes and puberty blockers:"When our children tell us who they are, it is our job as grown-ups to listen and to believe them." pic.twitter.com/sMHDzHpk1CMarch 16, 2023
She also "notably tweeted her NCAA March Madness bracket: choosing teams based on the level of abortion restrictions in their home states," Fox News said. "By this measurement, it's only fair that Minnesota didn't make the tournament because they'd have been a favorite for the title," she said in her post.
Flanagan has cited her father, White Earth activist Marvin Manypenny, as a major inspiration for her work, particularly around Indigenous issues, no matter the pushback. "He was a troublemaker and rabble-rouser, and an expert in our tribal constitution," Flanagan said to the AP. "He taught me to take up space at the table and to tell the truth, even if it makes people uncomfortable."
She has also, at least publicly, downplayed any potentially historic career changes in her future. Introduced at an event last month as "someone who might become the first female governor of the state of Minnesota," MinnPost said, Flanagan replied "One. Thing. At a time."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.
-
The revival of absinthe
The Week Recommends The once-banned 'green fairy' is back in demand in cocktail bars around the UK
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
How could AI-powered government change the UK?
Today's Big Question Keir Starmer unveils new action plan to make Britain 'world leader' in artificial intelligence
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
The UK's first legal drug consumption room
The Explainer 'Potentially transformative moment in UK drugs policy' as The Thistle opens in Glasgow
By The Week UK Published
-
US considering ban on Chinese drones as international tensions grow
In the Spotlight The decision will ultimately be made by the incoming Trump administration
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Jimmy Carter lies in state as 3-day DC farewell begins
Speed Read The 39th president died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Why are (some) Democrats backing DOGE?
Today's Big Question Elon Musk's cost-cutting task force gets bipartisan flavor
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
What would a constitutional convention look like?
In the Spotlight There's no precedent, raising fears of a 'runaway convention'
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
H-1B visa debate sparks MAGA infighting
In the Spotlight In defense of the visa program, Elon Musk traded barbs with MAGA supporters over their staunchly anti-immigration stance
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Will Jimmy Carter's one-term presidency be viewed more favorably after his death?
Today's Big Question Carter's time in the White House has always played second fiddle to his post-presidency accomplishments
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
2024: the year of the gender divide
In the Spotlight A growing ideological rift between young men and women was felt on a global scale this year
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
2024: the year of conspiracy theories
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Global strife and domestic electoral tensions made this year a bonanza for outlandish worldviews and self-justifying explanations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published