Minnesota Senate race enters final primary stretch with crowded fields

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(The Center Square) – Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race has already become one of the most expensive in state history as candidates vie for their party’s support.

With just 18 days until the primary, more than a dozen candidates are still in the race across both sides of the aisle.

On the Democratic side, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and U.S. Rep. Angie Craig are neck and neck. According to the most-recent poll from SurveyUSA, both Craig and Flanagan have 40% support.

The other 20% of voters split for one of the other four Democratic candidates still in the race. That poll was released Tuesday and had a margin of error of +/- 5%.

In May, Flanagan received the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party’s official endorsement. Prior to the convention, Craig announced that she would be bypassing the DFL’s endorsement process to focus on the August primary.

On Friday night, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., will be campaigning for Flanagan at an event in St. Paul. They will be joined by U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., whose seat this race is filling.

“The rally comes as Minnesota’s U.S. Senate primary has become the most expensive in state history, with millions of dollars in outside spending from super PACs and dark money groups backing Congresswoman Angie Craig,” Flanagan’s campaign said in a statement. “As outside interests attempt to influence the race, Flanagan’s campaign continues to build a statewide grassroots movement powered by thousands of volunteers and supporters across Minnesota.”

While the Democrats remain split going into the primary, Republican voters have rallied around sports broadcaster Michele Tafoya.

Tafoya will face nine other Republican candidates on the primary ballot, but only three of them are receiving support in polling. Those three candidates are former NBA player Royce White, Navy SEAL veteran Adam Schwarze, and Tom Weiler.

According to the most-recent poll from SurveyUSA, Tafoya has 41%, compared to 10% for White, 7% for Weiler, and 5% for Schwarze. That poll was released on Tuesday and had a margin of error of +/- 5.4%

That is especially notable as Schwarze received the endorsement of the state’s Republican Party at its May convention.

According to the Cook Political Report, the Minnesota U.S. Senate race is predicted to be likely Democrat. It is expected to be one of the bellweather races set to determine the balance of congressional power.

A Republican candidate has not won a U.S. Senate seat in Minnesota since 2002.