Michele Tafoya

Michele Tafoya spent nearly three decades in sports broadcasting, most of it as an NFL sideline reporter. By her campaign's count she covered 327 NFL games and five Super Bowls. Her final broadcast for NBC's Sunday Night Football was Super Bowl LVI on February 13, 2022, and she retired the following day. Since then she has worked as a political and cultural commentator and hosts a podcast. She entered politics in 2022 as co-chair of Republican Kendall Qualls's campaign for governor of Minnesota. Tafoya filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on January 20, 2026 to form a Senate campaign committee and announced her candidacy on January 21, 2026 for the seat being vacated by Sen. Tina Smith. At the state Republican convention in May she finished second to Adam Schwarze, who received the party endorsement. In the August 11, 2026 primary she won the Republican nomination with 51.6 percent of the vote over Schwarze, Royce White and other candidates, and she faces DFL nominee Peggy Flanagan on November 3.