Michele Tafoya announces run for retiring Minnesota senator’s seat

Michele Tafoya, a Republican former television sports reporter turned conservative commentator, announced on Jan. 21, 2026, that she is running for the open U.S. Senate seat in Minnesota being vacated by Senator Tina Smith, a Democrat who is retiring. In her announcement video, Ms.

Tafoya criticized Gov. Tim Walz for the state’s major fraud scandal and Representative Ilhan Omar for her criticism of the police, and she attacked what she suggested was a “radical ideology” behind transgender youths’ participation in sports. “As Minnesota’s senator, I will clean up the system, fighting corruption, ending the fraud and protecting your tax dollars,” she said.

She briefly referenced the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, saying, “The pressure is mounting again,” as images of demonstrations flashed onscreen. Ms. Tafoya spent most of her journalism career on the sidelines of N.F.L. games for NBC, ABC and ESPN and retired from NBC in 2022, with her final broadcast being Super Bowl LVI.

The next day she was announced as co-chair for the campaign of a Republican gubernatorial candidate, Kendall Qualls, who later dropped out. After leaving NBC she became a frequent presence on conservative media and started The Michele Tafoya Podcast in 2022, recording more than 500 episodes and increasingly focusing on Minnesota politics.

Key Topics

Politics, Michele Tafoya, Minnesota, Us Senate, Tina Smith, Tim Walz