Hoffman says Craig sought Senate endorsement while he was in ICU

John Hoffman said Rep. Angie Craig sought his endorsement for her U.S. Senate campaign while he was still in intensive care after the June 2025 attack that left him hospitalized in Minnesota. The Democratic state senator made the accusation public at a rally for Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in St. Paul, putting a personal dispute squarely into the middle of Minnesota’s 2026 Democratic Senate politics.

Hoffman said the outreach came while he was recovering in the ICU after the shootings, an episode that had already made him one of the most visible figures in the state’s lawmaker attacks. He later said, “I’m being public about it because it really hurt.” The comment turned the episode into more than a private grievance, raising questions about how far candidates can push for support when a colleague is still dealing with the aftermath of a violent attack.

Craig’s campaign disputed Hoffman’s claim and released a screenshot of a text conversation between Craig and Hoffman. The campaign move suggested an effort to blunt the accusation with a written record, while Hoffman’s account cast the exchange as an example of poor judgment during a medical crisis.

The clash comes as Craig and Flanagan are both central figures in the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party’s Senate fight in Minnesota. Hoffman’s appearance at Flanagan’s rally gave the allegation a political stage and tied it directly to the contest over who will carry the party’s banner in 2026.

The June 2025 shootings left Hoffman in the ICU and made the safety of Minnesota lawmakers part of the public record of the race. Now, the dispute over Craig’s outreach is likely to be measured not just as campaign hardball, but as a test of decency, timing, and the standards Democrats apply to their own conduct when power, injury, and ambition collide.