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The chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) is eyeing blue-leaning Minnesota as he aims to not only defend, but expand the GOP’s current 53-47 Senate majority in next year’s midterms — and the party is gearing up for a bold play with the help of a former sports broadcaster.
“We’re excited to expand our map, and Minnesota is one of the target states we’re looking at,” noted Sen. Tim Scott, chairman of the NRSC, in an interview with Fox News Digital this week.
Scott’s comments come as former professional football reporter turned political activist and commentator Michele Tafoya moves closer to launching a 2026 Republican Senate campaign.
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Former sportscaster turned political activist and commentator Michele Tafoya is seen in the Fox News Channel studios on April 18, 2024 in New York. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
It’s been nearly a quarter century since the last Republican victory in Minnesota’s Senate elections. We have to go back to the re-election of the Republican senator at the time, Norm Coleman, in 2002.
But President Donald Trump narrowed the margins in the state last year, losing Minnesota by less than four and a half points in his re-election bid to the White House.
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“We see real reasons to be optimistic. President Trump was very close in Minnesota. It’s a four-point race. We know that with the right candidate, we will be successful,” Scott emphasized.
Tafoya could be that candidate. She met last week with the NRSC, which was recruiting her to enter the race, sources confirmed to Fox News Digital.
And as OutKick first reported, Tafoya is expected to make a final decision early next year on whether to launch a Senate campaign.
Michele Tefoya, a former NFL sideline reporter turned political activist and commentator, is seriously considering running as a Republican candidate for Minnesota Senate in 2026. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Apparently pointing to Tafoya, Scott suggested that Republicans would be likely to land “a strong candidate in the race,” and teased to “wait and see” for “better news.”
Tafoya, a longtime NFL reporter and anchor, left her career at NBC Sports in 2022 as she became more politically active, saying at the time that she wanted to pursue other opportunities. She served as co-chair of 2022 Republican gubernatorial candidate Kendall Qualls’ unsuccessful campaign against Democratic Gov. Tim Walz.
Since then, Tafoya has become a vocal critic of Walz and far-left Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar and has criticized both of them. The ongoing fraud scandal in Minnesota.
“Dear @Tim_Walz – please take care of the horrible fraud you allowed in Minnesota before anything else. Please. Our money was stolen,” Tafoya wrote last week on social media.
If she announces her candidacy, Tafoya would join a large group Primary GOP Senate field this already includes Royce White, candidate for Senate for 2024, former NBA basketball player; Tom Weiler, retired U.S. Navy officer, 2022 GOP congressional candidate; and former Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze.
Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flannagan, a progressive, faces more moderate Democratic Rep. Angie Craig, who appears to have the support of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the party establishment, in the race for the Democratic nomination.
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Democrats remain optimistic that they will be able to hold on to their seats in next year’s midterms.
Lauren French, communications director for Senate Majority PAC, the main Democratic-aligned outside group in the Senate, told Fox News Digital that “Republicans have struggled for months to recruit a candidate in Minnesota, and they continue to fail.”
“Who they ultimately nominate won’t change the basic facts of the race: Minnesota is in trouble because of the economic policies of Donald Trump and the Republicans, and the state will elect a Democrat who will focus his time on lowering prices, creating affordable housing, and ensuring that all Americans have quality health care,” French stressed.
Three major nonpartisan political handicappers, the Cook Political Report, Inside Elections and Sabato’s Crystal Ball, each currently rate the Minnesota race as “likely” Democratic.
