Michele Tafoya
TLDR: Michele Tafoya is a former national sports broadcaster who spent about three decades at CBS, ESPN/ABC and NBC, ending as the NBC Sunday Night Football sideline reporter. She covered 327 NFL games and five Super Bowls and retired after Super Bowl LVI in February 2022. The day after leaving NBC, she became co-chair of Kendall Qualls's 2022 Republican campaign for governor. She announced her Senate run on Jan. 21, 2026, and won the Republican primary on Aug. 11, 2026, defeating the party-endorsed Adam Schwarze and Royce White. This is her first run for office.
$451K traded
Flanagan86%
Tafoya14%
Simonetti<1%
Whiting<1%
Michele TafoyaRepublican- Running for
- U.S. Senate (MN)
- Work
- Former sports broadcaster; podcast host
- Lives in
- Edina
- Background
- NFL sideline reporter for NBC Sunday Night Football; covered 327 NFL games and five Super Bowls; retired after Super Bowl LVI (Feb. 13, 2022); four Sports Emmy Awards micheletafoya.com
- Earlier career at CBS Sports (1994–1999) and ESPN/ABC (2000–2011) en.wikipedia.org
- B.A., University of California, Berkeley; MBA, University of Southern California en.wikipedia.org
- Co-chair of Kendall Qualls's 2022 Republican campaign for Minnesota governor en.wikipedia.org
- Won the Aug. 11, 2026 Republican primary; Adam Schwarze had the state GOP convention endorsement but lost the primary mprnews.org
- Website
- micheletafoya.com
- Raised
- $5,337,942, $1,372,728 on hand fec.gov
- Interviews
- KAXE 2026 Election Guide
- Also running
- Marisa Simonetti (Independent), Rebecca Whiting (Libertarian), Peggy Flanagan (DFL)
Q: Where does Tafoya stand on cost of living?
A: Says she "will never vote for reckless spending bills" and wants to cut federal regulations that burden small businesses; her campaign site pledges to "oppose any tax increase on the middle class."
kaxe.orgQ: Where does Tafoya stand on immigration?
A: Says she wants to "secure our southern border, enforce our immigration laws."
kaxe.orgQ: Where does Tafoya stand on health care?
A: Her campaign site says she will "fight ALL the bureaucrats, middlemen and price-gougers, cut prescription drug costs and keep power in the hands of patients."
micheletafoya.comQ: Where does Tafoya stand on abortion?
A: Said at her January 2026 launch, "I'm a pro-choice Republican," adding that there is "room for both of us" in the party; noted that the 2022 Dobbs ruling made abortion a state-level matter.
washingtonsun.comQ: Where does Tafoya stand on tariffs and trade?
A: Supports President Trump's trade agreements, acknowledging short-term disruption but citing long-term benefits.
mprnews.orgQ: Where does Tafoya stand on government fraud?
A: Makes fraud in state-run social-service programs her central issue; wants immigrants convicted of fraud deported, mandatory minimum sentences for fraud, and federal money withheld from states that refuse anti-fraud controls.
micheletafoya.comQ: Where does Tafoya stand on public safety?
A: Supports more funding and equipment for police, tougher criminal penalties, and deporting undocumented immigrants with criminal records.
micheletafoya.comQ: Where does Tafoya stand on social issues / elections?
A: Pledges to "keep men out of women's sports and locker rooms"; supports voter ID and parental involvement in education.
micheletafoya.com
