Hillary Clinton issued her first 2026 U.S. Senate endorsement for Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, drawing a White House rebuke over her attacks on President Trump.
Fox News Digital reported that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made her first endorsement of a U.S. Senate candidate in the 2026 midterm elections, backing Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan.
The Minnesota contest is an open seat. Democratic Sen. Tina Smith announced last year she would not run again in 2026. Flanagan now faces Republican nominee Michele Tafoya.
Clinton used the endorsement to hit Trump on household costs. White House spokespeople answered with jobs, tax cuts, and a reminder of her 2016 defeat.
Clinton posted on Bluesky and shared Flanagan’s own message touting the support. She told Minnesota voters they had a clear choice.
Clinton wrote:
"Minnesota, you have an opportunity to select an extraordinary person and public servant as your next U.S. senator. Please take it!"
In a longer statement carried in the same reporting, Clinton tied the race to prices and federal policy. She said Trump “has made it harder for families to afford childcare, groceries, and health care for their kids.” She added that “his tariffs and war in Iran are driving up prices,” and claimed “his budget ripped health care and food assistance away from children so billionaires could get another tax cut.”
Clinton then praised Flanagan’s record:
"Peggy Flanagan has spent her career fighting for children and families, from the Children’s Defense Fund to the Lieutenant Governor’s office, and she’s delivered for them. I know she’ll be that same champion in the Senate, and I’m proud to endorse her."
Clinton has kept a steady hand in Democratic politics well beyond this Minnesota race, including plans for an Omaha rally to lift other party candidates.
Flanagan answered on Bluesky and cast the endorsement as a continuation of long work on families and children.
She posted:
"@hillaryclinton.bsky.social has spent five decades fighting for working families, dedicating her career to making the case that every child in this country deserves a fair shot. I’m honored to have Secretary Clinton’s support, and I’ll proudly carry on her fight in the US Senate."
Flanagan spoke at her primary election night party on Aug. 11, 2026, at First Avenue in Minneapolis. That same day Tafoya cast her primary ballot at Shepherd of the Hills Church in Edina, Minn.
Clinton’s wider fundraising and progressive outreach has also included star-powered events, such as a karaoke fundraiser with Paul Rudd and Lin-Manuel Miranda for voter groups.
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers pushed back hard. She told Fox News Digital the Democratic Party created the affordability problem Clinton now cites.
Rogers said:
"Did Hillary Clinton forget that her political party created the ‘affordability’ crisis? President Trump is fixing it by delivering real results: he signed the largest working-class tax cuts in history, drastically cut the cost of prescription drugs, added more than one million private-sector jobs, launched a manufacturing renaissance, and sent 401(k)s to record highs. Democrats pretend to care about ‘affordability’ while supporting socialist candidates whose policies would cost every American household $355,000 over 10 years while adding $49 trillion to the deficit."
White House spokesman Davis Ingle struck a sharper personal note and pointed to growth under Trump.
Ingle said:
"President Trump is creating good-paying jobs, securing trillions of dollars in investments, and positioning our country to dominate the remainder of the 21st century. Meanwhile, Crooked Hillary Clinton is still whining about her spectacular 2016 election defeat. It’s time for Hillary to move on."
Clinton has also spent recent months warning Democrats about Republican messaging, at one point conceding the GOP “communist” label will land and telling her party it was not ready.
Smith’s exit turned the Minnesota Senate race into a prime midterm target. Clinton’s first 2026 Senate endorsement puts national Democratic branding behind Flanagan early.
Clinton appeared onstage Sept. 23, 2026, at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting at the New York Hilton Midtown. The endorsement itself arrived through Bluesky and the accompanying statement rather than a joint rally in Minnesota.
She has repeated similar party-discipline themes elsewhere, including when she admitted GOP “communist” attacks will work and scolded progressives who would not fall in line.
The White House framing is straightforward. Officials credit Trump with working-class tax cuts, lower drug costs, more than one million private-sector jobs, manufacturing gains, and record 401(k)s. They cast Democratic affordability talk as cover for costly socialist policies.
Clinton’s statement does the opposite. It blames Trump tariffs, the Iran conflict, and budget choices for higher family costs and reduced aid. Flanagan presents herself as the candidate who will carry that fight into the Senate.
That leaves Minnesota voters with a clear contrast: a lieutenant governor backed by a former secretary of state and 2016 nominee, against a Republican nominee who has already criticized Democratic leadership in the state.
Clinton keeps inserting herself into the party’s midterm fights. Voters still get to decide whether the old attacks on costs outweigh the results the White House is putting on the table.
