Tafoya wins Minnesota GOP Senate primary
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Michele Tafoya won the Minnesota Republican Senate primary Tuesday with more than 52% of ballots counted, finishing ahead of Marine veteran and Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze and former NBA player Royce White.
- Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota's lieutenant governor, defeated centrist U.S. Rep. Angie Craig in the Democratic primary after pledging to fight corporate influence and confront Trump.
- Tafoya will face Flanagan in the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Tina Smith; Minnesota voters haven't elected a Republican to a statewide office since 2006.
- Tafoya is best known for her 2011-2022 role as a sideline reporter on NBC's "Sunday Night Football" and had hosted a political podcast before entering the Senate race.
- Royce White, the third-place finisher, recently announced he would declare for the 2027 WNBA draft, inserting himself into the ongoing debate over transgender athletes in women's and girls' sports.
- Trump did not endorse a candidate in the Minnesota Senate primary, though Tafoya had support from the national GOP organization.
- Minnesota Republicans are hoping a fraud scandal involving the widespread theft of public funds will give them an opening up and down the November ballot.
Why it matters: Minnesota hasn't elected a Republican to statewide office since 2006, giving Flanagan a structural advantage. Republicans are betting a public funds fraud scandal creates an opening, but Tafoya heads into the general without a Trump endorsement, forcing her to run without the party leader's formal backing.
Ask SkimNews
