Photo: X / Michele Tafoya
Veteran sports broadcaster Michele Tafoya announced Wednesday that she is running in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Minnesota, entering a race that is expected to draw national attention in a state facing an open seat.
Tafoya, who spent decades as a sideline reporter for major sports broadcasts, said she decided to run after becoming increasingly concerned about what she described as corruption, rising crime and government failures under Democratic leadership in Minnesota.
“Minnesota is at a tipping point. We’ve had a failure, an epic failure of leadership here, and all the career politicians who are in office or also running for office again aren’t coming to save us,” Tafoya said in an interview with Breitbart News ahead of her announcement. “And so I’ve just gotten pushed to the point where I decided to raise my hand, and I do it gladly because I love this state.”
The race opened after Sen. Tina Smith announced she would not seek reelection to a second full term. Smith was appointed to the Senate in 2018 following the resignation of Sen. Al Franken and later won election to the seat.
Tafoya enters the race as Minnesota Democrats face scrutiny over large-scale fraud cases involving public funds, including the long-running Feeding Our Future investigation tied to federal child nutrition programs.
“We need to turn this around,” Tafoya said. “We’ve seen a lot of craziness and corruption. I want to answer with some common sense and courage, and I think Minnesota is ripe for this right now.”
A Minnesota resident for more than 30 years, Tafoya said public safety will be a central issue in her campaign. She criticized Democratic policies on crime and law enforcement, arguing they have contributed to rising violence and declining accountability.
“At the moment, violent crime is at historic highs, and incarcerations are trending down,” she said. “There’s more crime and fewer people being held accountable. The criminal justice system has turned into a turnstile.”
The Minnesota Republican primary is scheduled for Aug. 11, 2026. Tafoya hopes to break the Democrats’ long winning streak in the state.
“I think people are really hungry for that change, and I think that’s what I represent. We’re going to go out, and we’re going to fight for every vote, every Republican vote. We’re going to fight for Democrat votes, and we’re going to certainly fight for the independents,” she told Fox News.
