DLGA $2 – A Democratic outside group is rolling out a $2 million ad campaign in Minnesota’s Senate primary targeting Rep. Angie Craig over her votes on immigration enforcement during President Donald Trump’s second term, as immigration—especially ICE operations—remains
The ad opens with a simple, brutal image: armed federal agents, masks on, and a five-year-old child inside a Texas detention center.
In Minnesota, an outside Democratic group is betting that memory will shape the Aug. 11 Senate primary—deploying a $2 million advertising push that goes after Rep. Angie Craig for votes tied to immigration enforcement in President Donald Trump’s second term.
The campaign comes from the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association. with executive director Kevin Holst describing the moment as a referendum on experience and values inside the party. “This is a defining primary. because we have seen across the country voters are so sick of people who go to D.C. and go along to get along. And they’re looking for experienced people who are morally centered and grounded in the work that they’re doing. ” Holst said.
Holst later said the committee is trying “to be a leader in electing the right kinds of Democrats,” including “diverse leaders with lived experiences but also experience outside of D.C.”
Craig—who flipped a Republican-held district in 2018—now finds herself locked in a bitter primary against Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Tina Smith. The primary is not until Aug. 11, but the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party is expected to endorse a candidate at its convention at the end of May.
Immigration. particularly the future of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. has become a dividing line in Democratic primaries as Trump’s mass deportation efforts continue. In Minnesota. the stakes are sharpened by events earlier this year. when two American citizens were shot and killed by federal immigration agents. The state is also where Liam Ramos was detained. with the image of the young boy wearing a blue bunny hat and backpack becoming emblematic of the administration’s detention efforts.
The DLGA’s ad targeting Craig references Ramos and is narrated by Mary Granlund, a member of the local school board who says she was present when Ramos was detained.
“I was there. There were armed agents, masks on, guns. He’s not a criminal. He’s five,” Granlund says in the 30-second spot. “I begged them to stop. They locked him up in a Texas detention center. Who takes a child?”
Granlund then links Craig to the enforcement apparatus, saying Craig “helped ICE do it.” In the ad, Granlund says Craig “voted to give ICE the power to abduct and indefinitely detain parents and kids like Liam. And then she voted to thank them. How could we possibly trust Angie Craig?”
The campaign also points to Craig’s support for the Laken Riley Act, an immigration detention measure that Trump signed into law shortly after taking office last year. In early March, Craig wrote in the Minnesota Star Tribune that she regretted that vote.
“It is true that the president is not using any laws to carry out these sweeping immigration raids that have terrorized Minnesotans, but it’s also become clear that supporting any bill that gives ICE new authority in this administration was the wrong decision,” Craig wrote.
After the immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota. known as Operation Metro Surge. Craig introduced articles of impeachment against then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. She also announced legislation to strip new funding ICE received in the GOP’s sweeping tax cut and spending measure known as Trump’s “big beautiful bill.”.
Holst dismissed Craig’s reversal on the Laken Riley Act as “an act of political expediency.”
“She had over a year to say that she was wrong for this,” he said.
The ad further attacks Craig’s support for a resolution that included a line expressing gratitude to law enforcement officers. including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel. “for protecting the homeland.” That resolution was largely about condemning an antisemitic attack in Colorado. and Craig has pushed back on criticism of her vote for the resolution.
“You make difficult choices on these Republican gotcha bills every single day when you’re serving. And so I would ask, would the lieutenant governor have voted against a resolution to condemn antisemitism?” Craig told HuffPost earlier this year.
Holst said the majority of the Democratic caucus opposed the resolution. “You can stand against antisemitism eight days of the week without voting to thank ICE for their work across the country,” he said.
The immigration ads are also landing amid a second fight: Craig’s campaign is accusing Flanagan of using money connected to CoreCivic, a private prison company and ICE contractor.
Holst defended the DLGA’s record. calling Craig’s criticism a “very disingenuous attack.” He said the donation was solicited in November 2023. before Flanagan became the chairwoman of the group. and that Flanagan asked the committee to return the funds. Holst said the DLGA is in the process of trying to donate the funds to an immigrant rights group.
Craig’s campaign responded by referencing the CoreCivic money directly. “Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan accepted millions of corporate dollars as chair of the DLGA — including from the pharma. tobacco. oil and gas industries and from an ICE detention center contractor and continues to mislead voters about this fact. And now that money is being used to support her in her Senate campaign,” said Craig campaign spokesperson Antoine Givens.
Givens added that the DLGA is not addressing what he described as Flanagan’s record. “The DLGA is not talking about the Lt. Governor’s record because all she has is a record of not showing up to work and attempting to take credit for the work of Governor Walz,” he said.
That claim was tied to Minnesota Star Tribune reporting that Flanagan had not appeared at public events with Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, citing “people close to Flanagan” saying she had been “sidelined,” while Walz’s orbit said she stepped back amid her Senate run.
For Holst, the opening focus on immigration enforcement is about whether the issue has truly moved on.
“This is an issue that hasn’t gone away in Minnesota. While ICE’s efforts are not as intense as they were five months ago, this is still a trauma that people on the ground are dealing with,” Holst said.
He promised additional ads featuring Minnesotans describing how ICE disrupted their lives. “While ICE’s operations are not as intense as they were five months ago, this is a lingering trauma that members of the community are facing,” Holst said.
Between the arguments over votes and the accusations over funding. the campaign’s thrust is clear: in Minnesota’s Democratic Senate primary. ICE is no longer just a federal issue. It’s personal—carried in images. memories. and the insistence that for some families. the fear did not end when the raids eased.
Minnesota Senate primary Angie Craig Peggy Flanagan Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association ICE Immigration and Customs Enforcement Liam Ramos Operation Metro Surge Laken Riley Act Kristi Noem CoreCivic Trump immigration policy