Former NFL Reporter Tafoya May Run for Senate

A name and face familiar to NFL fans may make a run for the Senate. Outkick reports that Michele Tafoya is considering a 2026 run in her home state of Minnesota as a Republican. Tafoya worked as a sideline reporter for NBC Sports for years before leaving in 2022 to work as a conservative political commentator and consultant. She co-chaired the campaign of GOP gubernatorial candidate Kendall Qualls, who lost to Tim Walz in 2022. Tafoya, who has not confirmed the story, met last week with the Senate GOP's campaign arm, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, reports Fox News.

The seat is currently held by retiring Democratic Sen. Tina Smith. Tafoya would join a crowded GOP primary field that includes former NBA player Royce White, retired Navy officer Tom Weiler, and former Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze. On the Democratic side, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a favorite of the party's progressive wing, is competing with Rep. Angie Craig, who has backing from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Once a staple on NBC's Sunday Night Football, Tafoya, 60, left the network in 2022 after clashing publicly with some of her media peers over politics, including a high-profile appearance on The View in which she questioned Colin Kaepernick's comparison of the NFL to slavery.