JUST IN: Beloved Sports Reporter Launches Senate Run

Former longtime TV sports reporter turned conservative influencer Michele Tafoya jumped into Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race Wednesday, pitching herself as an agent of “sanity” and “normalcy” in a blue-leaning state rocked by crime, chaos and scandal.

Tafoya formally launched a bid for the open seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Tina Smith, a race Republicans see as a prime pickup opportunity as they look to expand their 53-47 Senate majority in this year’s midterm elections.

“We are suffering a crisis here in Minnesota, and really, it’s a crisis of leadership. We have career politicians who have brought us to this place, and they’re not coming to save us. So, some of us are going to have to step up and clean up the mess ourselves,” Tafoya said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.

Her announcement comes as Minnesota sits at the center of President Donald Trump’s aggressive illegal immigration crackdown, with the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement flooding the state with agents.

Thousands of migrants have been arrested, while protests have erupted following the shooting of Renee Good, a Minnesota woman who was rioting against the immigration operations with her vehicle. The shooting sparked anti-ICE demonstrations in Minneapolis and beyond.

At the same time, the state is reeling from a sprawling fraud scandal that earlier this month forced Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, the party’s 2024 vice presidential nominee, to abandon his re-election bid.

“We’ve got to decide not between right versus left, but right versus wrong, and we’ve got to decide, are we going to build up with the common sense that made this country great, or are we going to tear us apart with the corruption and the crazy that we’re seeing?” Tafoya said. “I think people know the answer to that, and that’s why I’m running.”

Tafoya called the shooting of Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, “absolutely tragic.”

“My heart sincerely goes out to her family and all of those who loved her. It should not have happened,” she said.

But she also pointed the finger squarely at Democratic leadership.

“How did we get to this place? How did this environment get created where people feel it’s their duty to go put their cars or their bodies in front of federal law enforcement? And I would contend that Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis have ginned this up,” Tafoya said.

She accused Walz and Frey of pouring fuel on the fire, saying they “are fanning the flames” instead of calming tensions and restoring respect for law enforcement.

Tafoya spoke as the Justice Department issued subpoenas to Walz, Frey and other state officials, a move sources told Fox News marked an escalation in a federal probe into whether state leaders conspired to impede law enforcement during the immigration operations.

Walz dismissed the investigation as political, calling it “a partisan distraction” and insisting his “focus has always been protecting the people of this state.”

“Minnesota will not be intimidated into silence and neither will I,” the governor said.

Frey has also blasted the Trump administration and accused the Justice Department of abusing its authority.

Federal officials said they are additionally investigating an anti-ICE protest that disrupted a church service Sunday at a Minnesota church where one of the pastors is an ICE acting field director in the St. Paul office.

“I think that incident in the church was horrific, awful, disgusting,” Tafoya said. “To see that picture of that small child scared being hugged by a parent because in a place of worship, these people thought they were safe, and then they learned otherwise.”

She warned that ongoing demonstrations are “making the whole environment not only dangerous for law enforcement, but for citizens.”

Arlington, Texas / USA – November 8, 2015: NBC Sports Reporter Michele Tafoya at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX

Turning to the state’s massive fraud scandal, Tafoya said, “This fraud scandal is epic, and it’s huge, and I don’t think we’ve seen the end of it.”

Since 2022, more than 90 people, most tied to Minnesota’s large Somali community, have been charged in what prosecutors describe as the largest COVID-era fraud scheme in U.S. history. Authorities say alleged money laundering tied to fraudulent meal programs, housing assistance, daycare centers and Medicaid services could total as much as $9 billion.

Prosecutors say some defendants used stolen funds to buy luxury cars, real estate, jewelry and lavish vacations, with some money allegedly sent overseas and potentially into the hands of Islamic terrorists.

“I think if Minnesotans aren’t angry already, they need to look at their pay stubs, look at how much gets taken out in taxes, and ask themselves, what did that get me?” Tafoya said. “Did that get me anything? Did that fill a pothole, or did I buy someone a Rolex?”

“This fraud is massive. We need to get to the bottom of it. We need to ask hard questions, get to the facts, make it stop, hold people accountable, and that’s why I’m running,” she added.

In a campaign launch video and statement first shared nationally with Fox News, Tafoya said, “I’m not willing to stand on the sidelines while Minnesotans are let down by leaders who refuse to take responsibility. This campaign is about putting people first — not politics as usual.”

Tafoya has been on the GOP’s radar for weeks and met last month with leaders of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the party’s Senate campaign arm, which has been working to recruit her.

Republicans have not won a Senate race in Minnesota in nearly 25 years.

Asked how she plans to break that losing streak, Tafoya said voters are ready for something different.

“I think people are really hungry for that change, and I think that’s what I represent,” she told Fox News Digital. “We’re going to go out, and we’re going to fight for every vote, every Republican vote. We’re going to fight for Democrat votes, and we’re going to certainly fight for the independents.”

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