The bitter Democratic primary for U.S. Senate between Congresswoman Angie Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan has grown even more negative in recent days as Craig and a Flanagan surrogate are engaged in a nasty back-and-forth over an endorsement request.
Last week, DFL state Sen. John Hoffman spoke at a rally in support of Flanagan’s campaign for U.S. Senate. At that rally, Hoffman claimed that Craig sought his endorsement when he was still in the hospital recovering from a shooting.
Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were shot in their home in June of 2025 by a gunman who posed as a police officer. That gunman, Vance Boelter, also shot and killed Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark.
The shootings shocked Minnesota and quickly became national news. Both of the Hoffmans survived and recovered in the hospital. In the weeks and months after the shooting, the Hoffmans became national names and were celebrated as heroic figures.
According to Hoffman, Craig sought his endorsement for U.S. Senate when he was still in the hospital recovering.
“When [Craig] would check on our family she asked that I endorse her campaign,” Hoffman said at last week’s rally for Flanagan. “She sent a dear friend out twice, once when I was in the ICU and once at our home. Honest to God, true story.”
“I’m being public about it because it really irked me,” Hoffman added. The state senator continued, saying Craig asked for his endorsement when the Hoffman family’s story had “high visibility.”
In contrast, Hoffman said Flanagan “checked on us out of her love for how we were doing.”
Craig rejected Hoffman’s story, telling the Minnesota Star Tribune that “Emphatically, what has been asserted is untrue.” She also said Hoffman’s story “is questioning my personal integrity, and I simply would never do what has been assessed that I did.”
The Star Tribune also obtained a screenshot of a text Craig sent to Hoffman from the day of the shootings in which Craig said she is praying for Hoffman and his wife. The text did not contain any mention of the U.S. Senate race.
The following text message in the screenshot was also sent by Craig nearly two months after the shooting. In that message, Craig said she was still praying for Hoffman and “would love to talk with you about the open Senate race when you’re up to it.”
Additionally, Craig went on Fox 9 and said she does not know “exactly what John is talking about, but I would never do that. No one would ever do that.” Alpha News contacted Craig’s campaign for this story but did not immediately hear back.
Hoffman responded to Craig in a statement reported by multiple media outlets in which he said “I will not allow our family’s experience to be dismissed simply because it is politically uncomfortable.”
“The screenshots released by her campaign show direct text messages from Congresswoman Craig,” Hoffman added. “They do not address the substance of what I said: that a dear and trusted friend approached us twice on her behalf regarding an endorsement, once while I was in the ICU and again while I was recovering at home.”
The senator’s statement went on to acknowledge that Craig expressed sympathy after the shooting occurred but said the endorsement requests came later.
“Peggy Flanagan’s repeated contacts with our family were different,” Hoffman added in his statement. “Peggy reached out simply to ask whether Yvette, Hope, and I were okay. She sought nothing in return.”
He continued, “Congresswoman Craig may disagree with my endorsement. She may defend her campaign’s conduct. But she does not get to rewrite what my family experience or publicly attack my honesty.”
The back-and-forth between Hoffman and Craig is just the latest development in what has become a volatile race for the DFL nomination for U.S. Senate.
Throughout the campaign, Flanagan has repeatedly attacked Craig for a pro-ICE vote she took in the U.S. House of Representatives. Meanwhile, Craig has argued that Flanagan’s ties to Minnesota’s fraud saga make her a poor candidate in the general election.
To this point, Gov. Tim Walz has not endorsed in the primary. However, his wife, Gwen, issued an endorsement for Craig this morning.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
