Michele Tafoya files to run as Republican for Minnesota U.S. Senate seat

People reports that Michele Tafoya, a former NFL sideline reporter for NBC's Sunday Night Football, submitted federal filings on Tuesday, Jan. 20 and launched a Republican campaign the next morning for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Tina Smith. Tafoya, 61, who worked as a sideline reporter from 2011 through 2022 and now hosts a podcast, said in a campaign video that she “covered the biggest football games in America” and “walked the sidelines when the pressure was mounting and the stakes were highest.” She argued that the job taught her about leadership and took aim at Minnesota Gov.

Tim Walz, saying she sees “politicians selling out honest, hard-working people” and promising to “clean up the system, fighting corruption, ending the fraud and protecting your tax dollars,” as well as to stand with law enforcement, deport dangerous criminals and “keep female sports for female athletes.” The Washington Examiner reported in December 2025 that Republicans had been encouraging Tafoya to run, and she previously agreed to co-chair a Minnesota Republican gubernatorial campaign in February 2022 after stepping back from broadcasting.

Tafoya has received a quick endorsement from U.S. Sen. Tim Scott and will compete for the Republican nomination against former NBA player Royce White, former Minnesota GOP Chair David Hann and veterans Adam Schwarze and Tom Weiler. On the Democratic side, U.S. Rep. Angie Craig and Lt.

Key Topics

Politics, Michele Tafoya, Minnesota, U.s. Senate, Tina Smith, Tim Scott