Longtime broadcaster Michele Tafoya is seriously looking at a GOP Senate bid in Minnesota and met with National Republican Senatorial Committee officials last week, a person familiar with the conversations told Semafor.
Tafoya’s candidacy has been on the back burner for months as Republicans largely focused elsewhere, and in the ensuing few months a tough Democratic primary has bubbled up between Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn.
Flanagan is arguing she’s the more pugnacious progressive; if Tafoya gets in, Craig will lean into an electability argument. A spokesperson for Craig cited her battleground district wins and said “it’s clear she is in the best position to keep Minnesota’s open US Senate seat blue.”
Minnesota is not yet thought of as truly competitive with Trump in the White House, but Tafoya could pique Republicans’ interest more than last year’s candidate, Royce White, who lost by about 15 percentage points.