Angie Craig
Role at the time: U.S. Representative from Minnesota’s 2nd District and Flanagan’s rival for the DFL Senate nomination, answering a question in an MPR News debate
Statement summary
Asked about fraud in state-administered programs during an MPR News debate, Rep. Angie Craig, then competing with Peggy Flanagan for the DFL Senate nomination, said the lieutenant governor “continues to take absolutely no accountability for any of the fraud issues” and “continues to blame the governor”. MPR News reported that Flanagan replied that lawmakers had taken steps to root out fraud earlier and that Gov. Tim Walz had taken the lead in addressing it.
“The lieutenant governor, even as we sit here today, continues to take absolutely no accountability for any of the fraud issues, and she continues to blame the governor. And I'm going to be honest: It's pissing me off.”
MPR News report on the final head-to-head debate between Rep. Angie Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan before the August 11 DFL primary. It quotes Craig’s answer on fraud in state programs and summarizes Flanagan’s reply.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
Relative to Tafoya’s accusation that Flanagan hid from and allowed Minnesota’s fraud, Craig, a fellow Democrat, makes a parallel but narrower charge: Flanagan “continues to take absolutely no accountability for any of the fraud issues” and blames the governor. That presses the accusation of evading responsibility rather than merely reporting it. The closest competing label is “Mixed or conditional”; it loses because Craig states the charge without qualification.