Michele Tafoya, the former sports broadcaster running as a Republican in the Minnesota Senate race, is hitting the campaign trail hard and voters in the state are taking her very seriously.
This could be the sleeper race of 2026. Even John Thune has been in Minnesota campaigning with her.
Tonight on FOX News, Bret Baier devoted an entire segment to Tafoya’s rise and the fact that the GOP increasingly sees this election as a possible pickup in the Senate.
The issue of fraud is taking a toll on Democrat candidate Peggy Flanagan.
Watch the whole thing:
BATTLE FOR MINNESOTA: @Garrett_FoxNews reports live from Minneapolis on how the U.S. Senate race in Minnesota is suddenly turning into a high-stakes battleground. Republican nominee and former sports broadcaster Michele Tafoya is putting pressure on Democratic nominee and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, focusing heavily on a massive fraud scandal that unfolded under the Walz administration. While Flanagan has distanced herself from the oversight failures, national Republican leaders like Senate Majority Leader John Thune note that the state is emerging as a prime opportunity to put Democrats on the defensive as both sides clash over inflation, national policies, and accountability.
— Special Report (@SpecialReport) October 6, 2026
Alpha News of Minnesota has done a report on how Thune is trying to help Tafoya in the state:
Republican U.S. Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, who serves as Senate majority leader, traveled to Minnesota Tuesday to join Michele Tafoya for a series of campaign stops as polling continues to show a tight race for Minnesota’s open U.S. Senate seat.
Thune and Tafoya visited Cambria, where they met with company leadership and workers before participating in an agricultural roundtable with farmers hosted by the Minnesota Farm Bureau, which has endorsed Tafoya’s campaign. The visit also included a fundraiser for Tafoya’s campaign that raised nearly $300,000.
“The best farm policy comes from producers, from people who are actually out there making a living on the farm,” Thune said during a press conference at Pfarr Family Farm in Le Sueur. “We can have all these meetings in Washington as we’re talking about policy, but there’s no substitute for getting out and hearing firsthand from the people who are actually out there producing the food and fiber that feeds and clothes and fuels our world.”
Thune said securing year-round E15 remains one of his priorities as Congress works on a new farm bill, calling it “enormously helpful and important.”
“If you want to see fuel costs go down, create more supply of fuel, and we can do that with E15,” Thune said.
Democrats will absolutely lose their minds if they lose this seat in the Senate.
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