Minnesota
EXCLUSIVE: From NFL Sidelines To U.S. Senate? Michele Tafoya Considers Minnesota Run
The former NFL sideline reporter has met with top Republican committees as she weighs a 2026 bid and a rare GOP pickup attempt in Minnesota.
Michele Tafoya, the former NFL sideline reporter turned political analyst, is considering a run for the United States Senate in her current home state of Minnesota, OutKick has learned. Sources familiar with the situation say she is expected to make a final decision in early 2026.
Tafoya met with the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), Senate Leadership Fund, and other stakeholders in Washington, D.C. last week. The NRSC has been recruiting her to run for the Senate race in Minnesota, where the Democratic primary has pitted progressive favorite Peggy Flanagan against Chuck Schumer-backed Angie Craig.
Tafoya gave up her NBC career so she could speak more openly about her conservative political beliefs. The breaking point for Tafoya at the media giant came in December 2021 when she appeared on “The View” and served as the conservative panelist. The rest of the cast on the show supported Colin Kaepernick’s national anthem protest, and his assertion that the NFL resembled the slave trade, while Tafoya raised some important counterpoints.
“I’ve been covering the NFL for 25 years,” Tafoya said at the time. “Nobody forces these guys to play. I thought comparing it to the slave trade was a little rough. These guys enter willingly, they are the most well cared for people. Yes, they play a hard sport. And every one of them — black, white, Latino, whoever’s playing the sport — will tell you how much they love it, and they’re willing to do it, and they make a damn good living.”
Former NFL reporter Michele Tafoya is weighing a Minnesota U.S. Senate bid after meetings with GOP groups, with a final decision expected early next year.
(Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports via Imagn Images)
Tafoya nnounced in February 2022 that she wanted to pursue other career opportunities. Shortly after, she became the co-chair for Republican Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Kendall Qualls when he ran against Tim Walz in 2022.
Tafoya’s Rise in Minnesota Politics
Since then, Tafoya has become more active politically, particularly in Minnesota. Tafoya has taken Walz and Rep. Ilhan Omar to task many times over their policies and rhetoric. Most recently, Tafoya has railed against a $1 billion fraud scheme in Minnesota that she linked to Walz and Omar.
Tafoya grew up in California and attended UC Berkeley for her undergraduate degree and USC for her master’s degree. She moved to Minnesota after graduation to pursue a career in sports broadcasting and has lived in the state since.
According to sources familiar with the situation, Tafoya has been receiving calls from supporters in Minnesota encouraging her to run, and she’s had ongoing conversations with South Carolina Sen. and NRSC Chairman, Tim Scott.
Minnesota hasn’t had a Republican senator since Norm Coleman, who left office in January 2009. Should Tafoya choose to run, she’d look to reverse a trend that has continued for over 15 years.
Minneapolis police suspect a driver was under the influence when he hit and killed a bicyclist on the city’s southside early Monday morning.
Officers responded to the crash at the intersection of Hiawatha Avenue and East 35th Street around 3 a.m., according to the Minneapolis Police Department.
Upon arrival, police found a man in his 50s suffering from apparent life-threatening injuries. Officers provided immediate medical aid, including CPR, before the man was transported to Hennepin Healthcare, where he later died.
The Minneapolis Police Department says that preliminary information indicates the driver, a 23-year-old man, had been traveling south on Hiawatha Avenue in a Ford Edge when he struck the bicyclist.
Officers arrested the driver and took him to the hospital, where police say “a search warrant for evidence collection was carried out.” Police later booked the driver into Hennepin County Jail on suspicion of criminal vehicular homicide.
The incident is still under investigation.
A rest area along Interstate 94 in Minnesota has been closed to trucks until about Independence Day to accommodate an almost $3 million improvement project.
The eastbound I-94 Enfield rest area between St. Cloud, Minnesota and the Twin Cities between Wright County Road 8 and Highway 25 is now closed to cars and commercial vehicles as crews resurface the entrance and exit ramps, and update nearby sidewalks.
According to KNSI, the full closure is just the first phase of the project. The rest area will reopen to passenger vehicles only the week of May 11th. During that time, the truck parking area will remain closed as crews repave the lot.
The truck parking lot will reopen the week of June 30th, right around Independence Day. During that time, the passenger vehicle area will be shut down to allow for the resurfacing of the lot. The Minnesota DOT expects the rest area to be fully open by late July. The entire project is expected to cost $2.9 million.
Drivers heading east on I-94 are encouraged to use the Big Spunk Lake rest area near Avon, or to drive a little farther out to the Elm Creek rest area.
Could a UCLA baseball team that’s perfect in Big Ten play get better?
Bruins coach John Savage thinks so, which is a frightening prospect for the rest of a seemingly overmatched conference.
While Savage’s top-ranked Bruins completed a three-game sweep of Minnesota on Sunday with a 5-2 victory at Jackie Robinson Stadium — stretching their Big Ten winning streak to 21 games — he said there’s more upside to be realized.
“Offensively, we just really couldn’t get a lot going,” Savage said after his team went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and stranded six baserunners. “We just weren’t able to put a lot together, but when that pitching and defense shows up every day, it gives yourself a chance to win, and that’s kind of what we did all three games, really.”
Those elements were so good Sunday that they overshadowed Roman Martin’s solo homer in the third inning and Will Gasparino’s two-run shot in the sixth.
Bruins left fielder Dean West made three superb catches — two leaping and one diving — and four relievers combined to give up only one run in 4 ⅔ innings. Closer Easton Hawk needed only six pitches to record a 1-2-3 ninth inning while notching his third save in as many days.
Savage credited Minnesota’s pitching after the Golden Gophers (22-17 overall, 5-13 Big Ten) held the Bruins (36-3) to an average of five runs during the series and said many of his team’s offensive struggles were situational.
“We have very, very good offensive players — some of them are in … little ruts right now, but that’s OK,” Savage said. “These guys play a lot and get a lot of at-bats; there’s a lot of ups and downs.”
When it comes to UCLA’s conference record, it’s all been up.
What it means
UCLA’s sweep is further evidence that the Bruins aren’t getting complacent because of their record.
“This culture is really solid, and these guys truly believe in one another and they’re playing for the team,” Savage said. “We’re very fortunate to have this group, and so they love playing together, so there’s no complacency and there’s no reason to because we haven’t done anything; I mean, you’re 36-3, that’s great, but at the end of the day it’s about getting better and playing your best baseball the next 75 days.”
Turning point
Spotting a dominant team an early lead is never a good idea.
That’s what happened when the Bruins struck for two runs in the bottom of the first inning.
West led off with a single to center field, took third on Roch Cholowsky’s double to left and scored on a balk. With one out, Martin hit an RBI infield single off the pitcher’s glove. UCLA was up 2-0, and the Golden Gophers could never catch up.
Did you see that?
Minnesota did not like it when Gasparino admired his home run by lingering in the batter’s box before commencing his trot around the bases.
There was consensus in both dugouts because Savage also didn’t care for it.
“I thought he probably stayed in the box a little too long for me,” Savage said. “That’s kind of not who we are, and they didn’t like that; I wouldn’t like that either, really.”
MVP
West saved multiple extra-base hits with his catches.
Which was his favorite?
“Probably the diving one,” West said. “I think that was the coolest one. I got to leave my feet and make a play on it.”
Up next
The Bruins will open a five-game stretch of nonconference games when they host Hawaii on Tuesday evening at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
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