Moving Ever Farther Left, Rep. Angie Craig Says She Regrets Voting for Laken Riley Act

Angie Craig represents Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District, but is desperate to move up to the United States Senate. 

Despite being a proud lesbian, she is one of the few LGBTQIA+/- politicians who doesn’t make a big deal about her sexuality, mostly because she has cultivated a reputation for being on the moderate side of the “progressive” spectrum. 

The Second District isn’t Deep Blue, and she beat a Republican incumbent to win her seat, though she has since won by comfortable margins as the district has become more liberal with an influx of “affordable” housing. 

Angie’s main opponent in the Democratic Primary is the Lieutenant Governor, Peggy Flanagan, who is about as lefty as you can get without declaring your dual allegiance to communism and Islamic terrorism. You probably recall seeing her photo, which I regularly use to illustrate how leftist Minnesota Democrats are.

Flanagan is into every left-wing nutty cause there is, alternatively wearing hijabs and keffiyehs on one day, and threatening slogans about attacking normies for opposing men in women’s sports the next.

She’s crazy, and that makes her perfect for this state. 

This is wild.

Being a Democrat in 2026 means having to apologize for voting for a bill named after an innocent girl who was murdered by an illegal immigrant..

Which simply calls for preventing violent criminals from being released back into the community. pic.twitter.com/nIbmYk1zVX

— Matt Whitlock (@MattWhitlock) March 23, 2026

Craig is struggling to distinguish herself as the better candidate in this race, at least to the radical base, so she decided that her main issue would be defending sexual predators, drug dealers, gang members, and protesters who assault federal law enforcement agents. 

Her latest attempt to outbid Flanagan in the “I support sexual predators” sweepstakes is announcing that she regrets protecting citizens from illegal alien criminals by voting for the Laken Riley Act. 

Because of course she does. The Laken Riley Act requires ICE to arrest and detain illegal aliens who commit violent crimes, and nothing is more Nazi than interfering with the inalienable right to oppress Americans, as long as you come from outside the country. 

U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, who voted for a punitive immigration bill last year called the Laken Riley Act, reversed herself Monday, writing in a Star Tribune commentary that she regrets her vote.

Craig represents the 2nd District but is running in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate against Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who’s been hammering Craig on her vote on the Laken Riley Act, which was named after a nursing student at Augusta University who was murdered by an undocumented immigrant in 2024.

The law, which was the first legislation signed by President Donald Trump during his second term, allows for the detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants who are merely accused of crimes, including violent crimes but also nonviolent offenses like burglary, theft and shoplifting.

Craig, who has moved to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, writes that her doubts about her vote crept in while she “stood side by side with protesters on the streets of Minneapolis and opposite dozens of armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at the Whipple Federal Building after Renee Good’s killing.”

Even if the Laken Riley Act wasn’t the cause of Operation Metro Surge — and the resulting wave of illegal detentions, violations of constitutional rights and the shooting of three people that came after the Trump administration sent 3,000 immigration officers here — Craig acknowledges in the piece that “any bill that gives ICE new authority in this administration was the wrong decision. And I regret my vote. ”

Flanagan released a statement saying, too little, too late: “Craig was the only Minnesota Democrat to vote with Donald Trump to empower ICE and stood by that vote for over a year. No amount of regret can reunite families, save children from indefinite detention, or make our communities whole again.”

Craig’s switch on the issue says little about her. Like most politicians, she takes positions based on her assessment of where the voters are on any particular issue, not on things like principles or what would be best for the country. A politician doing an about-face for political purposes is as surprising as the sun rising in the East. 

But this reversal tells you everything you need to know about how radicalized the Democratic Party has become. It is now toxic for a Democrat to have voted to expel criminals from the country. No matter the crime, no matter the danger the criminals pose to the community, it is imperative that we embrace their diversity because they are the ones who give us strength. 

Minnesota Democrats have made clear that their #1 priority is moving as far left as quickly as possible. It’s clear to me that the generation of Democrats who saw Angie Craig’s “moderate Democrat” shtick as their path to victory is now powerless compared to the generation of progressives who see Ilhan Omar as a hero.

Does this create an opening for Republicans this fall? It’s hard to say. Early polling shows that either Flanagan or Craig would beat Republican candidate Michele Tafoya, but polls predicting November turnout this early in a race mean nothing. If Craig is the candidate, she would almost certainly win; Flanagan? Hard to say. 

It’s hard to believe that oodles of outside money will flow into the state, because Republicans have a wide range of seats to defend in this hostile political environment, and Democrats are eager to invest in races against incumbents they think they might oust. 

Whatever happens in November, the intra-party fight among Democrats tells you that moderation is not  in the Democrats’ future. It’s full steam ahead for radicals. 

Editor’s note: If we thought our job in pushing back against the Academia/media/Democrat censorship complex was over with the election, think again. This is going to be a long fight. If you want to join the conversation in the comments — and support independent platforms — why not join our VIP Membership program? Choose VIP to support Hot Air and access our premium content, VIP Gold to extend your access to all Townhall Media platforms and participate in this show, or VIP Platinum to get access to even more content and discounts on merchandise. Use the promo code FIGHT to join or to upgrade your existing membership level today, and get 60% off!