Rep. Angie Craig makes her pitch to voters in Minnesota Senate race: Full interview

(FOX 9) - FOX 9 has extended an invitation to all the candidates polling above 5% in both the Minnesota Governor and Senate primary races to appear on our All Day program for an interview. On Monday, Rep. Angie Craig was the first candidate to appear. Here is her full interview.

Her primary opponent, Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, is scheduled to appear on All day this Friday.

Rep. Craig on not being progressive enough:

"I took a seat that had been in Republican hands for three quarters of a century, and I made it a safe blue seat over my four terms in Congress. In the House, I’ve listened to the people that I represent, and as it turns out, it’s a third Republican, a third Democrat, and a third who don’t like Democrats or Republicans. As a U.S. Senator, I will do the same thing. I will listen to the people I represent. That includes folks in the cities, in Minneapolis and St. Paul. I’m very proud to have the endorsement of the mayor of Minneapolis, who was out kicking off door knocks with me yesterday. But I also intend to go everywhere across this great state and represent everyone. And so, you know, what I can say is that I don’t think these labels we put on ourselves anymore matter very much. It’s about who you’re working for and, for me, that’s working on behalf of the working people of Minnesota. That’s allowed me to pass 13 bills in just eight years as a member of Congress, and that’s exactly what I’ll attempt to do as the next U.S. Senator."

Rep. Craig on outside spending in the Senate race:

"As a member of Congress, I have worked so hard and will continue to work to end Citizens United and take the outside super PAC spending out of every race – both general elections, where Republicans have spent about $50 million over eight years trying to take me out, and in our primary system. I think that we have some systemic failures, and the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling is one of them. Look, I think there are a number of groups outside – obviously, I can’t interact with them – who believe that I am the strongest Democrat to win in November against Michele Tafoya. And as a first priority for Minnesota, we have to hold this U.S. Senate seat. We cannot stop Donald Trump and Republicans’ worst impulses, the corruption in Washington, unless we win elections. So I don’t know. I have the same level of information as the lieutenant governor about who’s spending in my race, but I believe that they think that I’m the best Democrat to hold this seat in November."

Rep. Craig on criticizing Peggy Flanagan for fraud issues:

"The lieutenant governor, who was in many of the meetings with the governor over the years, has shifted all of the blame for the fraud issues in Minnesota to the governor. And that does disturb me. It says that she cannot take any accountability for what clearly happened on her watch. And look, I’m not repeating Republican talking points. What I’m doing is previewing for Democrats – just even a little bit – what Republicans are going to do to the lieutenant governor if she is our U.S. Senate candidate in November. Many Republicans have said out loud that they very much prefer to run against the lieutenant governor instead of me because they believe she has unique vulnerability as it relates to the fraud issues in Minnesota. So, you know, the lieutenant governor can try to run from the accountability, but she can’t hide from it. And I think it is a responsible action on my part to preview for Democratic primary voters just what’s going to happen in November if she is our candidate."

Rep. Craig on regretting her vote for the Laken Riley Act:

"I, along with a number of Democrats like Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock and Senator Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego – look, I mean, three days into the Trump administration, the detention of individuals, just detention of the individuals who committed crimes, you know, certainly coming off the 2024 election – I took the vote. But as I stood in front of the Whipple Center, as I saw what Trump and Kristi Noem’s ICE at the time did under Operation Metro Surge, of course, I regret giving the Trump administration even an inch when it comes to immigration enforcement. And I’m a big enough person to say when I got it wrong; I’ve done that. I wish the lieutenant governor would take some accountability on the fraud issues. But I believe that we can have both a safe and secure border, as well as we are and can be and will continue to be a nation of immigrants. In fact, not only from a humanity perspective, but, you know, the economy of the United States and Minnesota depends on it. I head up the ag committee for House Democrats right now, and 40% of our farmworkers in America are undocumented immigrants. And so we are incredibly reliant, and my view is that if someone has been here and paid their taxes and obeyed the law, that we ought to put them on a path to legal status in this country. And a long time ago, we should have worked to make sure that Dreamers, those DACA recipients in this country, have a path to legal citizenship."

Rep. Craig on bipartisan compromise:

"I don’t think we can ever compromise on our core principles. And even as a member of Congress from the Second, I don’t believe that I have. I believe that you have to know when to make a fist and fight, metaphorically speaking, the administration. And I also believe that you need to know when to extend your hand and work across the aisle. I’ve found some common ground on mental health and addiction issues over the past eight years with some of my Republican colleagues. I found some common ground on farm and ag issues with some of my Republican colleagues in the Congress. But I don’t think we can ever betray our values and our principles. And as your next U.S. Senator, I never will."

Rep. Craig on universal health care:

"The lieutenant governor and I both support universal health care, and that is allowing folks to have the access to the care that they need. But it also has to be affordable. I grew up in a family that didn’t always have access to health insurance myself. My mom was a single mom. We lived in several trailer homes growing up. We just disagree on the details of how to get there. I believe that the next big step forward is a Medicare for all who want it, a public option in our country. You know, I don’t like a fee-for-service payment system. That’s what we have in this country right now. It rewards disease. The more treatment a patient gets, the more the doctor gets paid, the more the hospital gets paid. And honestly, I think that the system itself needs reforming to and toward an outcomes-based or value-based system where we actually reward doctors keeping people healthy. And so I’m going to continue to fight for universal health care every step of the way."

Rep. Craig’s closing pitch to Minnesota voters:

"Because I’m an experienced fighter who can also take on the Trump administration, when I need to, head-on, as well as get things done for the people of Minnesota."

2026 ElectionsPoliticsAngie Craig