U.S. Senate (MN)
TLDR: Four candidates are running for the open seat: Marisa Simonetti (Independent), Rebecca Whiting (Libertarian), Peggy Flanagan (DFL) and Michele Tafoya (Republican). Sen. Tina Smith (DFL) is not running again. The winner serves a 6-year term, and every Bloomington voter has it on their ballot.
$451K traded
Flanagan86%
Tafoya14%
Simonetti<1%
Whiting<1%
Marisa SimonettiIndependent- Work
- CEO; real estate businesswoman
- Lives in
- Plymouth
- Background
- Bachelor's degree in psychology, University of Minnesota marisasimonetti.com
- Works in real estate; describes herself as a CEO who "builds statewide business assets" kaxe.org
- Ran unsuccessfully twice for Hennepin County commissioner in 2024 cbsnews.com
- A Hennepin County jury in March 2026 found her guilty of gross misdemeanor harassment and misdemeanor domestic assault over a June 2024 dispute with an Airbnb tenant renting space in her Edina home; the court also found her guilty of disorderly conduct but did not enter a conviction on that count. On June 30, 2026, she was sentenced to 364 days in the county workhouse with 270 stayed and four days' credit for time served, leaving 90 days in custody with work or school release, plus two years of supervised probation. eplocalnews.org
- Raised
- No reports filed fec.gov
Rebecca WhitingLibertarian- Now
- Chair, Libertarian Party of Minnesota
- Work
- Farmer; owner of Dirty Goat Farm & Bakery
- Lives in
- Bemidji
- Background
- U.S. Army, 2004–2007; combat medic on two Iraq tours (Ramadi 2004–05, Baghdad 2006–07) whiting4senate.us
- Born in Picayune, Mississippi; bachelor's degree, American Military University (2010) ballotpedia.org
- Chair of the Libertarian Party of Minnesota; board member, Bemidji's Natural Choice Farmers Market kaxe.org
- 2024 Libertarian nominee for U.S. Senate: 1.7% (55,215 votes) ballotpedia.org
- Raised
- $1,257, $1,257 on hand fec.gov
- Endorsed by
- Libertarian Party of Minnesota
Peggy FlanaganDemocratic-Farmer-Labor- Now
- Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota (since 2019)
- Work
- Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota
- Lives in
- St. Louis Park
- Background
- Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, 2019–present; Minnesota House of Representatives, District 46A, 2015–2019 ballotpedia.org
- Bachelor's degree in American Indian studies and child psychology, University of Minnesota (2002) ballotpedia.org
- Former Minneapolis Board of Education member, Camp Wellstone trainer, and executive director of the Children's Defense Fund (Minnesota) mprnews.org
- Enrolled member of the White Earth Nation; grew up in St. Louis Park mprnews.org
- Won the Aug. 11, 2026 DFL primary with 59.0% (411,853 votes), defeating U.S. Rep. Angie Craig (39.4%); she also held the DFL convention endorsement ballotpedia.org
- In office
- As lieutenant governor, was a leading backer of Minnesota's universal free school meals law, calling it "one of the most important things that I've ever worked on in my entire career" the74million.org
- Pushed for the first increase in decades to the Minnesota Family Investment Program cash assistance grant ($100 a month, 2019) the74million.org
- Championed the creation of Minnesota's Office of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, the first such state office in the nation mprnews.org
- Raised
- $6,517,348, $1,058,604 on hand fec.gov
Michele TafoyaRepublican- 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
- Raised
- $5,337,942, $1,372,728 on hand fec.gov
Q: Where do they stand on cost of living?
Simonetti: Wants to break up "state-sanctioned corporate monopolies that artificially inflate the cost of living" and stop wasteful public spending. kaxe.org
Whiting: Says the answer is "stopping the destruction of the dollar" and removing "regulatory burdens on small producers." kaxe.org
Flanagan: Supports a $17 federal minimum wage indexed to inflation, expanded paid family leave and universal child care; says "one good job is enough." peggyflanagan.com
Tafoya: 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.org
Q: Where do they stand on immigration?
Simonetti: Supports "absolute national sovereignty" and "strict enforcement of constitutional borders." kaxe.org
Whiting: Supports making the process for citizenship or legal work authorization "free and fast." kaxe.org
Flanagan: Opposes a "mass deportation agenda" and supports a "pathway to legal status" for long-settled immigrants. kaxe.org
Tafoya: Says she wants to "secure our southern border, enforce our immigration laws." kaxe.org
Q: Where do they stand on health care?
Simonetti: Says she will work to make health care "more affordable and accessible across the board," including mental health, addiction treatment and reproductive care, and supports rural health investments, "fair insurance coverage" and expanded clinic access. marisasimonetti.com
Whiting: Calls the VA "a failed system" and wants veterans' care opened to the private market. whiting4senate.us
Flanagan: Says "healthcare is a human right" and will "fight for Medicare for All"; wants to end prior-authorization requirements and add vision, dental and hearing coverage. peggyflanagan.com
Tafoya: 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.com
Q: Where do they stand on abortion?
Whiting: Replying to a voter on her campaign Facebook page in 2024, said "murder already is illegal, and we should quit trying to redefine what a human is based on their stage of development," and that she wants a culture in which abortion is "unconscionable." Said she would need to see how any law was written to make sure "emergency medical issues" were not affected. facebook.com
Flanagan: Wants to "reestablish nationwide access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion, contraception, and pre- and post-natal care." peggyflanagan.com
Tafoya: 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.com
No public statement found from Simonetti.
Q: Where do they stand on tariffs and trade?
Whiting: Says "we need to stop the regulatory burdens on small producers" and the taxes and tariffs on imported goods. kaxe.org
Flanagan: At Farmfest she said tariffs have created "instability" for farmers and raised spring planting costs. mprnews.org
Tafoya: Supports President Trump's trade agreements, acknowledging short-term disruption but citing long-term benefits. mprnews.org
No public statement found from Simonetti.
Q: Where do they stand on government fraud?
Flanagan: Says she is "appalled by the fraud that has occurred" and that the roughly 100 people charged "should be convicted." Points to the state's new Office of Inspector General and added attorney general staff for Medicaid fraud, and says law enforcement must stay "two steps ahead of these criminals." fox9.com
Tafoya: 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.com
No public statement found from Simonetti or Whiting.
