Hi folks, Peggy Flanagan here.

Look, I want to be real with you — FEC deadlines and fundraising numbers shouldn’t be that important, but they are. My team and I are hard at work to ensure the number we report shows the true strength of our movement. Will you pitch in $7 before giving my message below a quick read?

I know I talk a lot about looking toward the future, but today, I want to tell you a little bit about how I got here and how one man changed my outlook on politics, advocacy, and life.

His name was Paul Wellstone.

Politics isn’t just something I decided to do on a whim — it’s in my blood. My grandmother was among the first women to work for the Minnesota DFL. My mother worked on the Hubert Humphrey for President campaign in 1968, just out of high school. And I spent Halloween as a three-year-old handing out literature (and receiving candy!) for my aunt’s state senate campaign.

So in 2002, fresh out of undergrad at UMN, I decided to start my own journey into politics by stopping into Senator Wellstone’s office to see if there was anything I could do to help him win a third term and was offered a position as an organizer working to mobilize Minnesota’s Indigenous people.

I was just 22 — but I knew even then that the work I was doing was important, and that I wanted to continue that work in any way possible for as long as I could.

Tragically, our efforts to win Senator Wellstone a third term were cut short by his passing in a plane crash just 12 days before Election Day. But I was determined to carry on his legacy.

I went to work at Wellstone Action, the organization founded to carry on Wellstone’s work to empower people from all walks of life to engage in civic life.

As one of the original trainers of Wellstone Action’s signature program Camp Wellstone, I trained tens of thousands of community organizers, elected officials, and candidates across the country.

And when I ran for the Minneapolis School Board in 2004, I used the “Wellstone formula” to drive my campaign and secure my first electoral victory.

Paul Wellstone was more than a politician — he was and still is an inspiration to me and countless others working to lead our state and our country to a better tomorrow.

I can’t think of a better way to honor all that he and his legacy have done for me than to continue his mission of advocating for all Minnesotans on the Senate floor, but I need your help to get there.

Our first major test of this campaign’s strength is coming up at the end of the month. After midnight on March 31, our fundraising numbers will go public for the first time, and we need to send a clear message that Paul Wellstone’s legacy will live on in the U.S. Senate. Please consider pitching in to support my campaign before the end of the month:

Chi miigwech (big thank you)!

💚 Peggy Flanagan