Former sports broadcaster Michele Tafoya filed paperwork Tuesday to set a Minnesota U.S. Senate run in motion, giving Republicans a high-profile hopeful as they try to catapult the campaign onto the national map.
A Republican source familiar with Tafoya’s campaign plans told MPR News that a formal announcement would come via video on Wednesday. A campaign committee was set up with the Federal Elections Commission listing a Minnesota campaign office.
Tafoya, who has never sought public office before, will run for a seat that’s open because U.S. Sen. Tina Smith is retiring instead of running for a new term in 2026. Democrats have held both of Minnesota’s U.S. Senate seats since 2009.
The announcement immediately shakes up the race and improves the odds for Republicans, who see Minnesota as one of a few pickup targets as they defend a 53-47 majority in the U.S. Senate, counting the two independents who caucus with the Democrats.
While several candidates are vying for the GOP nomination, none has the national reputation that Tafoya does. She is likely to attract donors from across the country and groups that drop millions into competitive races are sure to give Minnesota a closer look with her in the mix.
Tafoya, 61, is a California native who relocated to Minnesota early in a sports broadcasting career. She lives in a Minneapolis suburb with her husband, who is a financial analyst.
In the 1990s, Tafoya moved to Minnesota as a Vikings and Timberwolves reporter. She quickly became a fixture as a voice and sometimes host for the Twin Cities all-sports radio station, KFAN. She parlayed that into national gigs — none bigger than her TV sideline reporting role at NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” from 2011 to 2022.
More recently, she has hosted a podcast focused on political commentary. She has been mentioned as a possible political candidate in the past but never gone ahead.
Democrats served notice they would work to tie her to President Donald Trump, who fell short in Minnesota in his three campaigns for president and whose approval rating is lagging in his present term.
Tafoya joins a crowded field on the Republican side. The roster of candidates includes: former NBA basketball player and 2024 GOP nominee Royce White; former Minnesota Republican Party Chair David Hann, former Navy Seal Adam Schwarze and retired Navy veteran Tom Weiler.
On the DFL side, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and U.S. Rep. Angie Craig are vying for their party’s spot on next year’s ticket, and Billy Nord is also running.
In recent weeks, Tafoya has honed in on Minnesota politics in episodes of her podcast, focusing on fraud in state Medicaid programs. She’s also gone after DFL Senate candidates Flanagan and Craig over guns, fraud and what Tafoya called “identity politics” that she regards as too prevalent on the left.
The sports-to-politics pipeline has had mixed results over the years.
Some prominent former athletes or coaches who have made the leap over the years include: former NFL wide receiver Steve Largent who served Oklahoma in Congress; ex-collegiate coaches Tommy Tuberville, now an Alabama U.S. senator, and Tom Osborne, a legendary Nebraska coach who went onto a congressional career in that state.
Among the most successful were past NFL quarterback Jack Kemp, who served in Congress, a presidential cabinet and was on a presidential ticket, and former NBA player Bill Bradley, who won a U.S. Senate seat in New Jersey and was a presidential contender later on.
Notable disappointments include: ex-NFL running back Herschel Walker, who played for the Vikings and other teams and who lost a U.S. Senate race in Georgia; Matt Birk, a former pro football lineman, fell short as a lieutenant governor candidate in Minnesota; past MVP baseball player Steve Garvey, who was defeated last year in a U.S. Senate race in California.
In the sports broadcasting ranks, former President Ronald Reagan called baseball games prior to a career in acting that preceded his entry into politics.
