As Peggy Flanagan Runs for Senate, a Look Back At Her Intentional Style

During next week’s midterm elections, Peggy Flanagan could make history as the first Indigenous woman elected to the U.S. Senate.

Flanagan—a Democrat who has served as Minnesota’s Lieutenant Governor since 2018—is currently seeking to replace Senator Tina Smith, who announced last year that she would not seek re-election in 2026. Flanagan now runs against Republican candidate Michele Tafoya for the open seat in Minnesota. (The race is currently close, though Minnesota has historically leaned more blue.)

In the tight race to the midterms, Flanagan has been focusing on priorities such as providing affordable healthcare, maintaining climate and agricultural policies, offering better access to reproductive healthcare and abortion, and protecting the rights of local Indigenous communities. Her fashion choices on the campaign trail, however, have been just as intentional: Flanagan has been using her platform to champion Indigenous designers.

A member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, Flanagan has been uplifting Indigenous designs—both traditional and contemporary—on a national stage. Back at the 2024 DNC—when Flanagan was working on the Walz-Harris campaign—she wore a black and white Parfleche blazer and skirt by Jamie Okuma, one of the most prominent Indigenous designers, and the only one to be inducted into the CFDA. Flanagan accessorized the look with a pair of Copper Canoe Woman statement earrings, another contemporary Native label. “I really want those earrings,” one viewer noted, while another simply exclaimed, “She is fabulous!”

In the two years that have followed, Flanagan has only continued this intentional approach to dressing for the campaign trail. Whether speaking at rallies or canvassing for citizens to get out and vote, Flanagan has been using what she wears for a much deeper purpose—to draw attention to some of the nation’s finest Indigenous designers, and to introduce a whole new audience to her culture’s unique customs.

In February this year, while attending a public memorial service for Renee Good, Flanagan donned a traditional Indigenous ribbon skirt—a vibrant piece rooted in history, often worn by Indigenous women during important ceremonies as a form of respect. In March, at the No Kings Rallies in St. Paul, Flanagan also wore a vibrant red coat from Sky-Eagle Collection, a more contemporary Native label, and paired it with a beaded pair of “ICE OUT” earrings. (Flanagan’s impactful earring collection is so noteworthy that it even now has its own Instagram account.)

Of course, it’s no secret that what politicians wear in the public domain is always strategic and loaded with meaning. Whereas Kamala Harris and Dr. Jill Biden have both embraced patriotic style—keeping to classic shades of red, white, and blue to demonstrate their love for their country—Flanagan has taken a more distinctive approach that champions the unique beauty and craftwork found within her own Native community. To do so, she has chosen colorful garments and statement earrings (her signature piece) made of dentalium shells, beads, or turquoise.

Flanagan isn’t the only Indigenous politician to take such a thoughtful approach to fashion, either. Throughout their respective times in office, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Kansas Representative Sharice Davids have done so as well. (For Haaland’s swearing-in ceremony back in 2021, she donned a vibrant traditional ribbon dress from Reecreations, moccasins, and dragonfly earrings made by the Laguna Pueblo metalsmith Pat Pruitt.)

For Flanagan, however, the celebratory and upbeat feel of her ensembles this past year is even more fitting, given she could now become the first Native American woman to win a Senate seat. What she has worn thus far powerfully nods to this potentially historic moment.

Below, see even more of her best looks on the political trail.