{"id":41481,"date":"2026-08-12T19:34:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T14:34:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=41481"},"modified":"2026-08-12T19:34:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T14:34:02","slug":"michele-tafoya-wins-minnesota-gop-primary-to-face-lt-gov-flanagan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=41481","title":{"rendered":"Michele Tafoya wins Minnesota GOP primary to face Lt. Gov. Flanagan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div id=\"beyondwords-wrapper\" data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"beyondwords-wrapper\">\n<p><span class=\"label-bg\">NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">EDINA, MN &#8211; As socialist candidates continue to score victories across the country and take more control of the <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_2828283\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/us\/democratic-party\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Democratic Party<\/a>, Minnesota GOP Senate nominee Michele Tafoya is making her pitch to voters from all parties who still believe in &#8220;common sense.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">&#8220;We do not want to see a socialist lurch anywhere in this country, and in particular in Minnesota, so I will do whatever I can to stand up against this movement toward Democrat socialism,&#8221; Tafoya told Fox News Digital on Tuesday shortly after voting in a suburb outside Minneapolis. &#8220;Socialism does not work.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;There is absolutely a home for every voter in Minnesota that wants common sense, that wants a return to sanity, that wants to see kids learn in school again, that wants accountability for this fraud, who wants the fraud never repeat itself, who wants crime rates to go down again,&#8221; Tafoya told Fox News Digital. &#8220;There is room for you. We are the common sense candidacy and we&#8217;re gonna represent a lot more than just conservatives in this state.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Hours later, Tafoya went from Republican Senate candidate to Republican Senate nominee as she convincingly won her <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_2828284\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/politics\/elections\/state-and-local-primaries\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">primary<\/a> and moves on to face Minnesota Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in the general election in November.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_2828285\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/minnesota-house-speaker-lisa-demuth-wins-gop-gubernatorial-primary-replace-tim-walz-november\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>MINNESOTA HOUSE SPEAKER LISA DEMUTH WINS GOP GUBERNATORIAL PRIMARY TO REPLACE TIM WALZ IN NOVEMBER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/343\/192\/tafoya-flanagan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/686\/384\/tafoya-flanagan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/672\/378\/tafoya-flanagan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1344\/756\/tafoya-flanagan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/931\/523\/tafoya-flanagan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1862\/1046\/tafoya-flanagan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/720\/405\/tafoya-flanagan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1440\/810\/tafoya-flanagan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1200\/675\/tafoya-flanagan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"Michele Tafoya says Peggy Flanagan represents a shift toward \" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>Michele Tafoya says Peggy Flanagan represents a shift toward &#8220;Democrat socialism&#8221; in Minnesota.<\/span> <span>(Fox News Digital ; Stephen Maturen\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">When reached by phone after her victory, Tafoya reiterated her commitment to crossing party lines to reach disaffected Democrats.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;Our state has been going in the wrong direction at the speed of sound and people who love Minnesota are brokenhearted and we see that this has happened under the watch of career politicians single-party rule for many years now they&#8217;ve brought us to this place it&#8217;s time for change and I think we&#8217;re going to appeal to voters across the political spectrum to stand up and say we&#8217;re not going to continue to re-elect the people that got us to this place to begin with,&#8221; Tafoya told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_2828286\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/failed-presidential-candidate-wins-dem-primary-midwest-governor-fraud-scandal-fallout\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>FAILED PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE WINS DEM PRIMARY FOR MIDWEST GOVERNOR AMID FRAUD SCANDAL FALLOUT<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Tafoya is aiming to become the first Republican to win statewide office in Minnesota since 2006.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Tafoya&#8217;s opponent in November, progressive Minnesota Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, has drawn criticism over the massive fraud scandal in the state that forced Gov. <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_2828288\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/person\/tim-walz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tim Walz<\/a> to drop his re-election bid, given that she served alongside him since 2019, as well as her far-left positions that include abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/343\/192\/michelle-tafoya-minnesota-fox-news.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/686\/384\/michelle-tafoya-minnesota-fox-news.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/672\/378\/michelle-tafoya-minnesota-fox-news.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1344\/756\/michelle-tafoya-minnesota-fox-news.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/931\/523\/michelle-tafoya-minnesota-fox-news.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1862\/1046\/michelle-tafoya-minnesota-fox-news.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/720\/405\/michelle-tafoya-minnesota-fox-news.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1440\/810\/michelle-tafoya-minnesota-fox-news.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1200\/675\/michelle-tafoya-minnesota-fox-news.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"Michele Tafoya and Kevin O\u2019Leary appear on Fox News \u2018Outnumbered\u2019 set.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>Michele Tafoya and Kevin O\u2019Leary visited &#8220;Outnumbered&#8221; at Fox News Channel Studios on April 18, 2024, in New York City.<\/span> <span>(Roy Rochlin\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;It is time to hold them accountable and we&#8217;re going to do that by firing them,&#8221; Tafoya said. &#8220;And we&#8217;re gonna hire people who are outsiders, who are willing to come in and fix this with new ideas and not just bend to party politics as the establishment always does.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Tafoya, whose message to disaffected Democrat voters is similar to the pitch Michigan GOP Senate nominee Mike Rogers <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_2828290\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/rogers-opens-door-democratic-voters-after-el-sayeds-primary-victory-still-hope\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">made last week<\/a> in his race against his opponent Abdul El-Sayed, told Fox News Digital she is looking forward to speaking to Democrats and independents in the coming months.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;When you run in a primary, you&#8217;re talking to mostly your own voters,&#8221; Tafoya said. &#8220;Now I&#8217;m excited to reach out to those disaffected Democrats who feel that the party has left them, who feel like they&#8217;re homeless politically. We&#8217;re gonna open the doors to them and I can&#8217;t wait to talk to all those independents and share their ideas So that&#8217;s what I&#8217;m looking forward to.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p> <!----> <!----> <\/p>\n<div class=\"article-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-bio\">\n<p>Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! EDINA, MN &#8211; As socialist candidates continue to score victories across the country and take more control of the Democratic Party, Minnesota GOP Senate nominee Michele Tafoya is making her pitch to voters from all parties who still believe in &#8220;common sense.&#8221; &#8220;We do not want to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41482,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/tafoya-flanagan.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/41482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}