Michele Tafoya courts wary GOP activists in Minnesota Senate run

MINNEAPOLIS - Michele Tafoya was leaving a Republican event last month above an ice rink in Rogers when a police officer working security recognized the former sports broadcaster.

A bit starstruck, the officer walked up to Tafoya and bashfully asked for a picture.

Tafoya's reception was more complicated inside the event, where a crowd of activists nibbled on doughnuts and sipped coffee before listening to a string of stump speeches from candidates.

One woman gushed about Tafoya's full-throated opposition to trans women and girls playing female sports. Another woman, however, told the Minnesota Star Tribune one issue was a deal-breaker: Tafoya's support for abortion access up to 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Those reactions demonstrate the promise and peril for Tafoya as she embarks on a campaign for U.S. Senate. Her pioneering role as a nationally known sports journalist gives her visibility and credibility in a crowded primary field and is helping her raise more cash than all of her GOP rivals combined this year. Her positions on several issues, including abortion, are also closer to the average voter in the state compared to some GOP candidates.

But to have any chance at breaking the GOP's 20-year losing streak in Minnesota's statewide elections, Tafoya has to win over her own party first.

That is no given.

Tafoya is facing stiff competition for the small pool of delegates who will decide the Republican Party's endorsement in May, fending off several candidates who routinely criticize her as a squishy moderate while betting the GOP base is looking for a brash fighter with more hard-line views on abortion, immigration and guns.

Tafoya doesn't need the endorsement to win a primary, but she‘s treading a narrow path: proving her conservative credentials to the Republican base without taking positions that might alienate swing voters.

"We cannot govern from the outside," Tafoya said during a recent fundraiser in Mahtomedi. "We cannot say, ‘Oh gosh, but I really like that guy's speech and so [what if] he's going to go lose.' We cannot do that."

Tafoya, who lives in Edina, has been mentioned as a possible political candidate for at least a decade. In 2022, she took a harder pivot into politics, stepping away from covering the NFL and launching a podcast that has since released nearly 600 episodes.

Back then, she told the New York Times she was wary of inviting controversy while working on Sunday Night Football and wanted more freedom to voice her opinions.

"I know there are people who really want me to [run for office]," she told the Times in 2022, before joking, "My husband is not one of those people."

As Republicans searched for a U.S. Senate candidate this year, Tafoya eventually opted in.

"I've got two kids who are grown, I'm going to be an empty nester soon along with my husband, who is thinking about retirement now," Tafoya said in Mahtomedi. "So this should be the time where we just go off and enjoy life, right? Pray for grandchildren, all that kind of stuff."

Yet Tafoya says she sees her state in decline. Minnesota is plagued by fraud, high taxes and plenty of other problems, she said.

"I could not live with myself if I did not try."

So far, Tafoya has done little traditional local press and declined an interview request from the Minnesota Star Tribune. But her views have emerged gradually as she appears on conservative television and radio shows and gives speeches during campaign stops around the state.

Tafoya built a conservative following after leaving sports journalism in part through her opposition to trans women playing female sports, a message she has continued to emphasize on the campaign trail. She criticizes Gov. Tim Walz and others for rampant fraud in state government and has pledged to support a bill in Congress to deport people convicted of defrauding welfare programs.

Those ideas are widely appreciated among conservatives. But Tafoya has also slowly revealed positions that, together, make her the most moderate candidate in the Republican field. Some of her interviews with conservative outlets have drawn backlash from right-wing media, activists and her opponents, who accuse her of being out of step with the party.

Tafoya did not rule out supporting some type of gun limits on one radio show, though her campaign said she wants to enforce existing ones. Some conservatives have interpreted Tafoya's comments on immigration to mean that she is open to "amnesty" for people who entered the country illegally, though Tafoya's campaign said there should be no "automatic path" to citizenship.

Tafoya said she would not eliminate the Senate filibuster to pass Donald Trump's legislation to overhaul elections and require photo identification to vote, though she supports the bill. She called the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good during Operation Metro Surge "tragic."

"It just should never have happened," Tafoya said. "I think we can all say that confidently and with sympathy and empathy for those families." She also said local officials should not have prevented police from helping immigration enforcement.

Then, there is the issue of abortion. Tafoya has long described herself as "pro-choice." She recently explained she supports abortion access up to 12 weeks of pregnancy.

When pressed by Republican activists, Tafoya argues the issue is up to states, not the federal government, and that Minnesota's permissive abortion laws are "barbaric." Tafoya says she will be an ally to Republicans by appointing conservative judges, and she would vote against using government money for abortion.

She also courts delegates with a deeply personal appeal, describing how painful it was to have miscarriages and fertility struggles before giving birth to her son. Tafoya and her husband later adopted a daughter from Colombia.

Tafoya's campaign has promoted polling that shows her up by 30 points in a U.S. Senate primary vote against opponents like former Navy SEAL and political newcomer Adam Schwarze, former NBA player Royce White and former state GOP chairman David Hann. The powerful campaign arm of Senate Republicans is supporting her, part of her massive financial advantage.

"She is as strong a candidate as the Republicans have put forward in 15 years, since [former U.S. Sen.] Norm Coleman," said Rudy Boschwitz, a former Republican U.S. Senator from Minnesota, who encouraged Tafoya to run. "She's got a lot of energy, she has a lot of pizzazz."

In Minnesota, however, primary voters tend to follow the Republican endorsement made by a small group of highly engaged activists. In 2018, former Gov. Tim Pawlenty ran for governor with similar advantages, but he lost a primary after skipping the endorsement process.

Trump won over the GOP base as a well-heeled television celebrity, but Tafoya has not always been an instant fit.

She's from a blue and affluent suburb, was once skeptical of Trump and has led a life mostly outside of politics at the top of the media food chain. GOP delegates are concentrated in rural and exurban areas, can loathe the Republican establishment in Minnesota and Washington, and hew closer to Trump's Make America Great Again movement.

In 2024, party delegates backed White, a firebrand conservative with ties to Steve Bannon, over a more traditional Republican backed by many in the GOP's establishment. White lost to U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar by nearly 16 percentage points.

White is running again this year, though as he faces allegations of domestic abuse, many operatives believe Schwarze has a shot to win the endorsement.

Unlike Pawlenty, Tafoya is trying to woo delegates. She has gone from a TV audience of millions to speaking in front of two dozen or a few hundred delegates and activists in gymnasiums, bars and small event centers. The Star Tribune watched her speak at local Republican events - including one private fundraiser - in Rogers, Mahtomedi, Lakeville, Eden Prairie and Albert Lea.

She is polished, prepared and at ease on stage bantering with an audience, leaning on sports anecdotes at times to connect with people.

When someone in Lakeville asked how Tafoya would avoid getting "rolled over" in politics, she joked: "For close to three decades I had to interview Bill Belichick at halftime, and he wasn't always in a great mood."

Tafoya also emphasizes her strong work ethic, saying she once memorized the injury history of every player in the NFL to be prepared during broadcasts.

She acknowledges her differences with some Republicans while arguing it is part of what makes her electable. Tafoya rarely criticizes her opponents, even as they routinely tee off on her.

"I would tell everyone this," Tafoya said at one event. "We're going to agree on 98% of the stuff."

In interviews with nearly two dozen GOP activists, many point to Tafoya's name recognition and personality as assets. Some love her policies, and others are willing to put aside differences with Tafoya because they see her as the strongest general election candidate.

"Royce White ran last time, and he did not have charisma and he also had some baggage," said Bryan Bursch a financial controller from Stillwater who was at Tafoya's Mahtomedi fundraiser. "You need to have charisma and likability."

Most who support other candidates don't fault Tafoya for her stance on abortion, but there are other friction points. For example, Schwarze and White have pledged to drop out if they're not endorsed. Tafoya has not.

Tafoya said she wants a broader electorate to weigh in. Some take it as a sign she can't win the endorsement. Many delegates are protective of their role and suspicious of candidates who they believe are sidestepping the endorsement process.

In Albert Lea earlier in April, Chasity Serocki, a 45-year-old stay-at-home mom from Winona, said she supported White and met Tafoya at a recent event. Tafoya, Serocki said, had "almost an air of contempt" as she answered delegate questions about abiding by the GOP endorsement.

"She was very defensive, kind of in an aggressive tone about that," Serocki said. "And she says, ‘Well, why would I do that if you guys endorse Royce White, he's not electable.'

"If you don't care what we have to say, do you care about what greater Minnesota has to say?"

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