Tafoya clinches Minnesota GOP Senate primary, eyes November bid

Former NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya won Minnesota’s GOP Senate primary with about 51% of the vote as roughly a fifth of ballots were counted, defeating Adam Schwarze and Royce White. Endorsed by the NRSC but not by President Trump, she pitched herself as a political outsider who can flip Tina Smith’s seat in November. Her platform includes cracking down on fraud, mandatory minimums for fraudsters, deporting illegal migrants who steal taxpayer money, opposing ICE abolition, and backing the SAVE Act, with Minnesota viewed as a competitive race for the 2026 midterms; she is set to face a Democratic challenger (likely Peggy Flanagan or Angie Craig) in November.