Republican Michele Tafoya, a former NFL sideline reporter, to launch Minnesota Senate run
Former NFL reporter Michele Tafoya is considering a run for Senate in Minnesota, giving Republicans a high-profile recruit as they look to put the state in play next year.
Tafoya filed documents establishing a senatorial campaign committee with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday. Three sources familiar with her decision confirmed she is running for Senate, and two sources said a formal announcement was expected Wednesday.
As Republicans look to expand their four-seat Senate majority next year by targeting states won by Donald Trump in 2024, including Michigan and Georgia, some in the party are optimistic that Democratic Sen. Tina Smith’s retirement could put Minnesota in play. Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Rep. Angie Craig are both competing for the Democratic nod.
Tafoya, a longtime journalist who worked for NBC Sports and currently hosts a podcast, had been seriously considering a Senate run for months and met with the National Republican Senatorial Committee in December, according to a source familiar with the meeting. Last year’s GOP Senate candidate, former professional basketball player Royce White, is also in the race, along with former state GOP Chairman David Hann and former Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze.
Tafoya’s entry as a well-known journalist and relative stranger to politics could provide a boost to his party. A self-described “pro-choice” Republican, she might also have some bipartisan appeal.
But Republicans haven’t won a statewide election since 2006, and they have struggled to recruit candidates who can close elections.
White, known for his controversial comments online, sometimes using slurs, lost to Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar by 16 points last year, even as Trump made some gains in the state. Trump, who has long viewed Minnesota as a potential pickup, lost Minnesota by 4 points last year, a 3-point improvement over his 2020 margin.
Tafoya’s path could be complicated by the state party’s primary process.
The state Republican Party supports a candidate for the party convention, which often boosts that candidate’s campaign. But others who don’t get support can continue their primary campaigns. White won the support of the state GOP last year, but he still faced a contested primary and won the Republican nomination with 39 percent of the vote.
It is not yet clear whether Tafoya will seek party support or continue her primary campaign if she does not get the nod.
Tafoya has been discussed as a potential candidate in recent years. She entered politics in 2022, co-chairing Republican Kendall Qualls’ gubernatorial campaign as she covered her last Super Bowl. Qualls is running for governor again this year in a crowded Republican primary.
Tafoya told Fargo’s WDAY radio in February that she was close to making a decision about a Senate run and had spoken with Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., chairman of the NRSC. She said she was thinking about the impact on her family and wondering how long she would stay in Minnesota.
“I think Minnesota is lacking a moderate Republican who doesn’t tell them he’s going to ban abortion but is also the antithesis of the Tim Walz regime,” Tafoya said at the time, speaking broadly about the race.
