MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Sen. John Hoffman Says Angie Craig’s Ally Sought His Endorsement While He Was Recovering From Shooting

BROOKLYN PARK, MN (July 27, 2026). Minnesota Sen. John Hoffman has accused an ally of U.S. Senate candidate Angie Craig of seeking his political endorsement while he was recovering from the June 2025 assassination attempt that seriously wounded him and his wife, Yvette.

Hoffman made the allegation Friday while appearing at a campaign rally for former Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, Craig’s opponent in the Democratic primary for Minnesota’s open U.S. Senate seat.

“When her opponent would check on our family, she asked that I endorse her campaign,” Hoffman said, according to CBS Minnesota. Hoffman said a person he described as a “dear friend” of Craig approached him twice, once while he was in intensive care and again at the family’s home.

Hoffman’s remarks represent his account of the communications. They do not independently establish what Craig authorized, what the intermediary said or whether an explicit endorsement request was made.

Craig Campaign Issues Categorical Denial

Craig’s campaign denied the allegation and released a screenshot of a text exchange showing Craig expressing sympathy and telling Hoffman that she and her wife were praying for his family.

“We cannot imagine the pain and trauma that the entire Hoffman family has and continue to experience,” Craig’s campaign said in a statement reported by CBS Minnesota. “But the claim is categorically false.”

The campaign maintained that Craig’s initial communication with Hoffman expressed sympathy and did not ask for an endorsement.

Flanagan’s campaign declined to become directly involved in the dispute, telling CBS Minnesota that the issue was “a matter between Congresswoman Craig and the Hoffmans.”

Dispute Enters Increasingly Bitter Senate Campaign

The disagreement comes as the Democratic Senate primary grows more confrontational. Craig and Flanagan are competing for their party’s nomination to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Tina Smith.

The timing makes the dispute particularly sensitive. Vance Boelter was recently sentenced to two consecutive life terms plus 40 years for killing former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and shooting Hoffman and his wife in June 2025.

Source: CBS Minnesota

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