MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya launched her campaign for the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, hoping to win the Republican nomination for the Minnesota seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Tina Smith.
“For years, I covered the biggest football games in America,” Tafoya said in a video posted on social media, in which she stands on a snowy football field. “I walked the sidelines when the pressure was mounting and the stakes were the highest. That job taught me about more than football. It taught me about how leadership really works. When leaders are prepared and accountable, teams succeed. When they aren’t, people pay the price.”
Tafoya alluded to the turmoil over the ongoing immigration crackdown in Minnesota, making clear that she stands with federal law enforcement. The video includes brief clips of federal officers clashing with protesters.
“As Minnesota’s senator, I will clean up the system, fighting corruption, ending the fraud and protecting your tax dollars,” she said. “I will protect what’s fair and safe, standing with our law enforcement officers, deporting dangerous criminals, and keeping female sports for female athletes.”
The video also takes shots at Democratic Gov. Tim Walz for the fraud cases that have dogged his administration and includes clips of Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, a frequent target of the ire of President Donald Trump.
Tafoya, who's long been active in Minnesota Republican politics, is best known for her work from 2011-2022 as a sideline reporter for NBC's Sunday Night Football. She currently hosts a frequently political podcast. Other Republicans in the race include former NBA player Royce White, who lost to U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar in 2024, military veterans Adam Schwarze and Tom Weiler, and former Minnesota GOP Chair David Hann.
Top Republicans had long urged Tafoya to run. U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, of South Carolina, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, quickly endorsed her, posting on social media: “Change is coming, and Michele Tafoya will lead the way.”
But she also faces potential hurdles among some Republican voters. She supported then-Sen. Marco Rubio, of Florida, for president in 2016 and in 2022 urged Trump not to run again. She has also supported abortion rights, with some exceptions.
On the Democratic side, U.S. Rep. Angie Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan are competing for their party's nomination to succeed Smith, who announced last February that she wouldn't seek another term.
“Trump’s hand-picked candidate just jumped in the race for US Senate,” Craig said in a social media post. “Minnesota needs a Senator who will stand up and fight for our state — and we know it won’t be MAGA Michele.”
Tafoya is hoping to break a long losing streak for Republicans at the top of Minnesota's ballot. No GOP candidate was won statewide office in Minnesota since 2006, and the last Republican to win a Minnesota U.S. Senate seat was Norm Coleman, who was elected to a single term in 2002.