Republican Michele Tafoya, a former NFL sideline reporter, to launch Minnesota Senate run

Former NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya plans to launch a run for the Senate in Minnesota, giving Republicans a high-profile recruit as they look to put the state in play next year.

Tafoya filed paperwork Tuesday establishing a Senate campaign committee with the Federal Election Commission. Three sources familiar with her decision confirmed that she is running for the Senate, and two sources said an official announcement is expected Wednesday.

While Republicans are looking to expand their four-seat Senate majority next year by targeting states Donald Trump won in 2024, including Michigan and Georgia, some in the party have been optimistic that Democratic Sen. Tina Smith’s retirement could put Minnesota in play. Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Rep. Angie Craig are both competing for the Democratic nod.

Tafoya, a longtime reporter who worked for NBC Sports and currently hosts a podcast, had been seriously weighing a Senate run for months and met with the National Republican Senatorial Committee in December, according to a source familiar with the meeting. Last year’s GOP nominee for the Senate, former professional basketball player Royce White, is also in the race, along with former state GOP chairman David Hann and former Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze.

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NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya on what it takes to tackle the stories

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Tafoya’s entering as a well-known reporter and relative political outsider could give her party a boost. A self-described “pro-choice” Republican, she could also have some bipartisan appeal.

But Republicans have not won a statewide election there since 2006, and they have struggled to recruit candidates who can make the races close.

White, known for controversial comments online, at times using slurs, lost to Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar by 16 points last year even as Trump made some gains in the state. Trump, who has long eyed Minnesota as a potential pickup, lost Minnesota by 4 points last year, a 3-point improvement on his 2020 margin.

Tafoya’s path could be complicated by the state party’s primary process.

The state Republican Party endorses a candidate at the party convention, which often boosts that candidate’s campaign. But others who do not get the endorsement can continue with primary campaigns. White won the state GOP’s endorsement last year, but he still faced a contested primary and won the Republican nomination with 39% of the vote.

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It’s not clear yet whether Tafoya will seek the party’s endorsement or continue with a primary run if she does not win the nod.

Tafoya has been mentioned as a potential candidate in recent years. She entered politics in 2022, co-chairing Republican Kendall Qualls’ gubernatorial campaign while she was covering her final Super Bowl. Qualls is running for governor again this year in a crowded GOP primary.

Tafoya told WDAY radio of Fargo in February that she was close to making a decision about a Senate run and had spoken with Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the NRSC chairman. She said she was considering the impact on her family and questioning how long she would remain in Minnesota.

“I think Minnesota is starving for a moderate Republican who doesn’t tell them that they’re going to ban abortion but who also is the antithesis of the Tim Walz regime,” Tafoya said at the time, speaking broadly about the race.