Hewitt backs Tafoya's criticism of Flanagan's record
Hugh HewittRadio host and Fox News opinion contributor
Hewitt argues that the administration's failures on fraud make Flanagan vulnerable and praises Tafoya's debate attack on her record.
“the hot mess that Walz and Flanagan have left the state in after eight years of hapless indifference”
Analysis
Where this statement fits
Michele Tafoya’s accusation that Peggy Flanagan is “hiding from” Minnesota’s welfare-fraud scandal
In a September 13, 2026 post, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michele Tafoya said her Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, “is hiding from the fraud” in Minnesota’s Feeding Our Future scandal and “let it happen.” Feeding Our Future was a nonprofit that authorities said fraudulently obtained federal child-nutrition funds during the COVID-19 pandemic; its executive director, Aimee Bock, was convicted at trial in 2025. Flanagan was not charged and has not been accused of personally approving fraudulent payments. Asked about the scandal on the podcast Lovett or Leave It on September 20, Flanagan said fraud “is completely unacceptable,” that she supported a new independent inspector general’s office, and that Minnesota is “prosecuting fraudsters” while President Trump “is pardoning the fraudsters” who defraud Medicaid.
Source and context
Analysis
About this source
Hewitt endorses Tafoya's criticism of the Walz-Flanagan administration and argues that the issue could affect the Senate race.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The column considers the October 16 debate and the role of fraud in the Senate contest.
After the quotation
Hewitt predicts that the issue could help Tafoya win a normally Democratic state.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to Flanagan's alleged failure to address fraud, Hewitt criticizes her administration's conduct and endorses the substance of Tafoya's attack.
- Recorded on
- Published here
More from this case
Read the full caseTafoya says Flanagan deserves a pink slip rather than promotion
“You're her boss. You pay her. I think she deserves a pink slip.”Read statement
Flanagan says Walz had oversight of the fraud response
“the buck stops with him. He was the one who had oversight here.”Read statement
Flanagan says fraud response was outside her assigned duties
“I was not tasked with the fraud response ... My job as lieutenant governor ... is to lean on the issues that I’ve been leaning on for a long time, which is children and families.”Read statement
Share or embed this statement
The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Hewitt backs Tafoya's criticism of Flanagan's record
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/6762-hewitt-argues-that-the-administration-s-failures-on
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Hewitt backs Tafoya's criticism of Flanagan's record". First published: 2026-10-25. Last updated: 2026-10-25. https://disputeindex.com/events/6762-hewitt-argues-that-the-administration-s-failures-on