Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan was elected chair of the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association on Tuesday, making history as the first Native American woman to lead a national political party committee.

Flanagan, who is the nations highest-ranking Native woman in elected office, said people shouldnt ignore the role that Democratic lieutenant governors can play in enacting policies or winning elections. Generally their job is to support the governor and be there to fill in if the governor resigns or dies. But part of the job is what you make of it, she said, and the power of todays crop of Democratic lieutenant governors derives from how many come from the social justice movement and have deep connections to these communities. Now they are in positions to deliver on the issues theyve been organizing around for years.

That is the secret sauce. That is what makes lieutenant governors so powerful, Flanagan said in an interview. Well make a difference in 2024.

She noted that of the nations 25 current Democratic lieutenant governors, 12 are people of color and 14 are women.

We are the most diverse group of statewide elected officials in the country, she said. This is the next generation of party leaders.

Flanagan, who has been lieutenant governor since 2019, said her ties to progressive constituencies in her state were key to helping Democrats there build power, win elections and push through a generations worth of liberal reforms this year with a one-seat majority, elevating Minnesota to the forefront of progressive policymaking. The states new laws include 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, free public college tuition for low- and middle-income families, drivers licenses for all residents regardless of immigration status, and new protections for abortion rights and transgender youth.

This past year, weve really showed the country that we can and must dream big, said the Minnesota Democrat. I think that is one of the reasons why my colleagues have elected me into this position. To show what is possible.