Ex‑Sports Broadcaster Michele Tafoya Enters Minnesota GOP Senate Primary

Former "Sunday Night Football" sideline reporter Michele Tafoya has filed federal paperwork to run for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota as a Republican, seeking the open seat that Democrat Tina Smith will vacate. GOP sources tell CBS she met last week with the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which has been recruiting her as the party looks to hold its narrow 53–47 majority and break a two‑decade statewide losing streak in Minnesota Senate races. Tafoya joins a crowded Republican primary that already includes 2024 nominee and ex‑NBA player Royce White, former state GOP chair David Hann, Navy veteran Tom Weiler and former Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze. Democrats are headed for their own contested primary between progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and centrist Rep. Angie Craig, who recently called for impeaching DHS Secretary Kristi Noem over the ICE killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, signaling immigration enforcement and federal crackdowns will be central campaign issues. Tafoya, who left NBC in 2021 and has since aligned with Minnesota Republicans as a co‑chair for gubernatorial candidate Kendall Qualls, gives national GOP strategists a recognizable media figure to test in a state they haven’t carried statewide since 2006.