Fatal ICE shooting shakes up races for U.S. Senate, governor

The fatal shooting of Renee Good by a federal immigration enforcement agent in Minneapolis has pushed immigration policy to the forefront in the races for Minnesota governor and U.S. Senate.

For Democrats, the issue has become a flash point in the race for Minnesota’s open U.S. Senate seat, with Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan highlighting her opponent U.S. Rep. Angie Craig’s past support of a bill that critics say laid the groundwork for President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

The debate raging around the heavy presence and aggressive tactics of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents both leading up to and since Good’s death is also reverberating in the open race for governor. Republicans in the crowded field of contenders say Democrats deserve blame for ratcheting up the rhetoric around immigration enforcement, while Democrats say confrontational federal tactics could prompt a blowback at the ballot box in blue-trending Twin Cities suburbs.

“This is becoming a defining issue for this election cycle in Minnesota; it’s going to go one of two ways,” said former Republican U.S. Rep. Vin Weber. “Either the anti-Trump intensity is going to be enhanced, and it will be a real washout in favor of the Democrats, or it will go the other way and be a counterbalance to the normal midterm advantage the Democrats have.”

Flanagan, a progressive who has previously criticized the more moderate Craig for her votes on immigration legislation — including the Laken Riley Act and a subsequent resolution that praised ICE agents — is now using those votes as her main line of attack against Craig.

The Laken Riley Act requires the detention of noncitizens who have been arrested or charged with certain crimes such as burglary, theft or assault on an officer.

“I think it’s really interesting, and I say that in the most Minnesotan way possible, that somehow people expected something different from this second Trump administration. The very first vote out of the gate ... was for the Laken Riley Act, which strips immigrants of due process, which my opponent, Angie Craig, voted for,” Flanagan said during an interview on MS NOW shortly after the shooting.

“Peggy Flanagan ... is twisting this and trying to create some sort of political advantage in a Senate race in a way that is disgusting,“ Craig said.

Craig has also criticized the Flanagan for “taking no responsibility” as lieutenant governor for Minnesota’s ongoing fraud scandals while taking credit for policies such as paid family leave, passed under the Walz administration.

“I understand that she’s on her back foot a little bit right now because she’s got some significant issues just as Republicans attack her on the fraud issue,” Craig said.

Throughout her congressional career, Craig has often taken more conservative positions on immigration and law enforcement, including her call for President Joe Biden to take executive action to secure the southern border. These stances helped earn her the endorsements of groups such as the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association.

Those more moderate positions helped Craig win her politically competitive Second District by increasingly larger margins, including a nearly 14-percentage point victory in 2024.

“I don’t know what Angie can really do to walk back this vote,” said Briana Rose Lee, a DFL state executive committee member who represents the progressive wing of the DFL and is supporting Flanagan in the Senate race.

“She should have seen that Trump’s immigration policy was cruel and barbaric and this was not in good faith,” Lee added.

In the days after the shooting, Craig has stepped up her public appearances pushing back on ICE’s actions. She confronted Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer on the House floor over comments he made about the shooting and attempted to inspect a federal immigration detention center at Fort Snelling in St. Paul days after the incident. She is also leading the calls to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

“The bluer the area that you’re in, and the more kind of activist space you have on this, it is definitely going to be, I think, a flash point,” national Democratic strategist Eddie Vale said of Democrats’ votes.

The circumstances around the shooting have also become an issue in the governor’s race. At a GOP gubernatorial debate in Morrison County on Saturday, several candidates connected the shooting to rhetoric by Democratic lawmakers over ICE’s enforcement efforts in the state.

“That’s poor leadership from the very top. Cooler heads have to prevail,” Demuth told the crowd.

Former DFL Executive Director Todd Rapp said Republicans’ unified response to the shooting could help them, especially if Democrats are embroiled in disputes over the federal response.

“I think Democrats should be cautious to keep the intra-party battle civil and ultimately focus primarily on their concerns about the Trump administration,” Rapp said.

Walz dropped out of his race for re-election last week amid the ballooning fraud scandal, but some Democrats think there could be backlash for Trump and Republicans over ICE’s tactics.

Former DFL state Sen. Jeff Hayden thinks the shooting of Good could shift the focus from fraud and reshape the narrative of the 2026 race.

“I think you could look at what was maybe a little bit of wind at the sails of Republicans turning into a headwind pretty quickly.”