TRUTH TEST: Anti-Flanagan ad gets a B-minus

TRUTH TEST: Anti-Flanagan ad gets a B-minus

Republican Michele Tafoya’s campaign takes every opportunity to tie her Democratic opponent Peggy Flanagan to fraud in state government. That includes TV ads, like one featuring a classroom with a teacher and students.

“Okay kids, let’s talk about consequences,” a teacher says in front of her classroom. “What happens if you don’t do your homework?” “No iPad?” a student responds. “Now, what happens if someone stole millions from kids like you?” the teacher asks. “Somebody gets fired?” a student responds. “You’d think,” the teacher says.

The ad is clearly targeting the administration of Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. At a minimum, hundreds of millions of dollars have been stolen by fraudsters, and that figure could someday reach a billion dollars or more. The ad points out no state commissioner or other high-level state officials were fired for letting the fraud happen, although some lower-level officials did resign or were fired for unspecified reasons .

“Now what if politicians pay millions to dead people?” the teacher in the ad goes on to ask. “Definitely fired,” a student responds. “Nope. Not in Minnesota,” the teacher says.

It is true over the past seven years there have been cases of dead people receiving government checks. In 2019, the Minnesota Medicaid sent $3.7 million to “deceased enrollees.” The Walz administration blamed the problem on a new computer system.

In 2020, some dead Minnesotans received federal stimulus checks during COVID , but that happened under the Trump administration. In 2024, President Joe Biden’s administration sent up to $84 million in housing assistance to Minnesotans in error , including “hundreds who were already dead.”

Neither of those latter cases was the fault of the Walz-Flanagan administration.

“We teach our kids about consequences,” the ad concludes. “Peggy Flanagan let fraudsters steal hundreds of millions of dollars from you.”

That statement cites the U.S. Justice Department and the date of May 21, 2026. That’s the day several members of the Trump administration came to Minneapolis to announce another $90 million in fraud cases that were being prosecuted that likely happened during the Walz-Flanagan administration.

This ad includes several truthful claims, but also some exaggerations and facts taken out of context. It gets a B-minus on the 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS “Truth Test.”

How KSTP Grades Political Ads in Truth Test An “A” requires nearly complete accuracy with little exaggeration and little or no need for more context.

A “B” requires mostly accurate information, but gets marked down for minor exaggerations or misleading information.

A “C” can be the result of inaccurate information or exaggerated information that misleads or gives the viewer no context.

A “D” is the result of at least half the information being false or misleading to the point of leaving a false impression.

An “F” is the result of more than half the information being outright false or misleading or out of context.

Below is additional research used for this report:

Minnesota DHS spent $3.7 million on care for dead Medicaid recipients, audit shows

$207 million in Medicaid for dead people

State agency fires assistant commissioner ahead of fraud hearing on shuttered housing program

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