Former NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya has filed paperwork to run for Minnesota\u2019s Senate seat in the 2026 election, joining a crowded field of Republican hopefuls in the 2026 election.<\/p>\n
Tafoya, 61, a resident of the Minneapolis suburb of Plymouth, has been eyed as a possible candidate by the National Republican Senatorial Committee and met with the Senate Leadership Fund and other stakeholders in Washington, DC, in December, The Post previously reported.<\/a><\/p>\n She has not publicly addressed the \u201cTafoya for Senate\u201d campaign since it was filed with the FEC on Tuesday.<\/a><\/p>\n NBC reporter Michele Tafoya on the sideline before a game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks on Dec. 8, 2019. AP<\/p>\n The four-time Emmy Award-winning sports journalist is entering the GOP primary after incumbent Sen. Tina Smith (D)<\/a> announced she wouldn\u2019t be seeking a second term last February.<\/p>\n Smith, 67, said her \u201cdecision is not political, it is entirely personal\u201d with intentions to retire in early 2027 to spend more time with her family.<\/p>\n Tafoya has been vocal on social media regarding issues happening in her home state and around the country, including sharing The Post\u2019s exclusive report <\/a>Tuesday about 7,000\u00a0illegal immigrant gang members<\/a> being arrested during President Trump\u2019s first year in office.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy would anyone protect these people from law enforcement?\u201d she wrote on X <\/a>the same day she filed her statement for candidacy.<\/p>\n Since Smith\u2019s announcement, Democrats have been gearing up for a messy primary pitting Rep. Angie Craig against the progressive favorite, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, with outsider Billy Nord having thrown his name as a nominee, too.<\/p>\n Michele Tafoya on \u201cOutnumbered\u201d at Fox News Channel Studios in New York on April 18, 2024. Getty Images<\/p>\n Sen. Tina Smith speaks during a field hearing on immigration in St. Paul, Minn. on Jan. 16, 2026. AP<\/p>\n Republican nominees in the crowded primary include former Minnesota Senate Minority Leader David Hann, ex-NBA player Royce White and US Navy SEAL veteran Adam Schwarze.<\/p>\n Tafoya started her career at Minneapolis\u2019 radio station KFAN, covering the Minnesota Vikings and the University of Minneapolis before being hired by CBS in 1994.<\/p>\n The longtime sports reporter then moved to ABC and ESPN and became the sideline reporter for \u201cMonday Night Football.\u201d She also did stints with a local radio station and returned to the NFL sidelines with NBC\u2019s \u201cSunday Night Football\u201d crew, a position she held from 2011 to 2022.<\/p>\n Tafoya covered the Los Angeles Rams\u2019 victory in Super Bowl LVI in February 2022 as her last sports assignment before leaving her career and joining Kendall Qualls\u2019 campaign during the Republican primary for Minnesota governor, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n She shot down speculation that she was pulled from the air, rather had \u201cbeen waking up every day with a palpable pull at my gut that my side, my view, my middle-ground moderate viewpoint, is not being represented to the rest of the world,\u201d Tafoya told former Fox News host Tucker Carlson<\/p>\n The soon-to-be vacant seat has been a Democrat stronghold since Al Franken defeated incumbent Norm Coleman (R) in the 2008 election.<\/p>\n Michele Tafoya interviews Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson on Dec. 1, 2019. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz pose for a picture on Jan. 7, 2019. REUTERS<\/p>\n Minnesota may have two new senators representing it in the upper chamber in 2027, as Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D)<\/a> is said to be seriously considering a run for the governorship of the North Star State.<\/p>\n Klobuchar, who was first elected to her seat in 2007, has been viewed as a successor of Gov. Tim Walz (D) after he dropped<\/a> his bid for a third term on Jan. 5 as he faces major scrutiny over a massive welfare fraud scandal and the ongoing unrest<\/a> following the fatal shooting of activist mom Renee Nicole Good<\/a> by an ICE agent earlier this month that erupted under his watch.<\/p>\n