Generally, one would think that in Minnesota, a Democrat running for Senate might have a slight advantage. Minnesota is generally considered a blue state.
But the race right now between the Democrat Peggy Flanagan and Republican Michelle Tafoya appears incredibly tight, as my colleague Sister Toldjah explained. It's basically neck and neck.
One of the reasons for the closeness is that Michelle Tafoya is a great candidate. She has a solid platform and comes across well to voters. It would be great for Minnesota and the country if she won.
The other reason is that Flanagan is just a horrible candidate. She is weighed down by the fraud scandal in her state that has gone on while she's the Lt. Governor, a scandal that she acts as if she had been clueless about.
Flanagan is also clueless in how she comes across in her own actions, and she "has a lot of baggage to exploit, most of which she brought on herself," as Sister Toldjah explained.
Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan wore a ‘Protect Trans Kids’ T-shirt with an image of a knife whilst Gov. Walz signed a bill to make Minnesota a sanctuary state for trans people in 2023. pic.twitter.com/kvaqyAAIQ1
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) August 27, 2025
But Flanagan apparently hasn't learned her lesson yet that how you come across matters, and/or her campaign staff is asleep at the switch. Because no one apparently cared about the visuals of this ad she posted this week.
Echelon Insights Pollster Patrick Ruffini nails it.
Reagan's TV guys used to say, don't listen to what the TV announcers are saying, just look at the visuals with the sound off.
— Patrick Ruffini (@PatrickRuffini) October 2, 2026
For anyone wondering why this is a close race. https://t.co/SacrzmzRnb
I frankly didn't even hear what she had to say initially because I was distracted by whatever the heck it was that she's wearing, and how severe and weird it makes her look. It looked like she showed up wearing something the campaign staff didn't like, and a bigger male staffer offered her his jacket and tie. Then the tie sort of appears to be hovering in front of the shirt. The whole outfit is just bad.
The fact that she spent money on this and let it go out just screams clueless, and the X commenters went to town.
You keep thinking to yourself surely she'll acknowledge the outfit. Like this has to be a bit.
— Michael Duncan (@MichaelDuncan) October 2, 2026
Nope lol https://t.co/Jdv53KArWI
I can't get past the Big, Ugly Jacket. https://t.co/vbNiRwbDdC
— Bill Glahn (@billglahn) October 2, 2026
If you turned a Kamala Harris speech into wardrobe https://t.co/eKLR7U9I7F
— Brian Brenberg (@BrianBrenberg) October 2, 2026
This is the kind of ad they would show when they want to explain how not to do ads.
If you managed to get past the Michael Dukakis-level wardrobe malfunction, what Flanagan said herself was also off in that the "cuts" are about addressing fraud and abuse. You know - that problem in her state that her administration didn't properly address?
Then again, all she can talk about is President Donald Trump at the end of it all. If she's against the One Big Beautiful Bill, then she's against the Working Families Tax Cut it helped to maintain, which helped Americans. So what she's saying doesn't make a lot of sense.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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