Former sports broadcaster michele tafoya is running as the Republican nominee against DFL Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota’s open U.S. Senate race, which multiple recent reports show is running as a close, competitive contest.
Polling released this month found the race essentially tied. An InsiderAdvantage survey reported Flanagan at 46% and Tafoya at 45% of likely voters, a one-point advantage that pollster Matt Towery called “unusual” for a blue-leaning state.
Tafoya has leaned into economic and law-and-order themes while campaigning across greater Minnesota. At a Le Sueur farm event she campaigned with Senate GOP leader John Thune, telling voters she would back year-round E15 ethanol and arguing she would bring “fresh leadership” to Washington.
Tafoya has criticized what she calls weak oversight in state programs and has sought to tie Flanagan to a recent welfare fraud scandal, while also saying she does not support wholesale immigration enforcement rollouts that overreach, according to campaign appearances and interviews.
Flanagan, in turn, has pressed Tafoya on national issues, accusing her of being closely aligned with former President Donald Trump and urging voters to reject what she frames as a MAGA-aligned choice. Flanagan is on an extensive “Got Your Back” tour across the state and has emphasized gas prices, agricultural costs and the war in Iran as voter concerns.
Both campaigns are active but Minnesota has not attracted the same torrent of outside spending seen in neighboring battlegrounds, and analysts say the state could break late. The Cook Political Report continues to rate the seat as “likely Democrat.”
For voters tracking the matchup, the polls and both candidates’ travel schedules suggest a tight final month where farm policy, the economy and issues around fraud and immigration are central battleground themes.
Sources
- MPR News — coverage of Tafoya campaigning with Sen. John Thune, her support for year-round E15 and the contrasting travel schedules of Tafoya and Flanagan.
- The Hill — reporting on an InsiderAdvantage poll showing Flanagan leading Tafoya 46% to 45% and analysis from pollster Matt Towery.
