Former NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya will compete for an open seat in the U.S. Senate after winning the Republican primary in Minnesota on Tuesday night.
Tafoya will face Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan for the Senate seat. Flanagan, a progressive, defeated centrist U.S. Rep. Angie Craig with a pledge to fight the influence of corporations and confront President Donald Trump.
Minnesota voters haven't elected a Republican to a statewide office since 2006. Tafoya and Flanagan will compete to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Tina Smith.
"We've had a crisis of leadership here. We've seen what career politicians have done in this state," Tafoya told reporters after casting her ballot earlier Tuesday in a Minneapolis suburb. "They've brought us to a place of national embarrassment, and this state is ready for change."
Republicans are hoping a fraud scandal involving the widespread theft of public funds will give them an opening up and down the ballot.
Tafoya tallied more than 52% of the vote with nearly all ballots counted, finishing ahead of Adam Schwarze, a Marine veteran and Navy SEAL, and former NBA player Royce White, who had an existing profile as a prior candidate and conservative commentator. White also recently made sports headlines by saying he would declare for the 2027 WNBA draft, inserting himself into an ongoing discussion about transgender athletes in women's and girls' sports.
Trump did not endorse a Senate candidate in Minnesota, although Tafoya had support from the national GOP.
Tafoya, who has long been active in Minnesota Republican politics, is best known for her work from 2011 to 2022 as a sideline reporter for NBC's "Sunday Night Football." She had hosted a frequently political podcast prior to her Senate run.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.