Peggy Flanagan wins Minnesota Senate race against Michele Tafoya

Democratic Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan has won election to the United States Senate from Minnesota, beating Republican Michele Tafoya. The Associated Press called the race for Flanagan shortly after midnight. The Washington Examiner reported that Flanagan earned 54.36 percent of the vote with 70.6 percent of ballots counted. [1][2]

Discrepancies exist across reports regarding which sitting senator Flanagan will replace. The Washington Examiner reported that Flanagan will succeed Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar. However, PBS NewsHour and The Hill both reported that the open seat was left by Democratic Senator Tina Smith, who announced in 2025 that she would not seek a second full term. [1][2][7]

Flanagan has served as the 50th lieutenant governor of Minnesota since 2019 and is an Ojibwe activist who previously served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. Tafoya is a former sports broadcaster who worked for NBC, ABC, CBS, and ESPN, and served as a sideline reporter for NBC Sunday Night Football from 2011 to 2022. [8][9]

The campaign involved significant debates over state issues. As FTMQ News reported earlier, Tafoya targeted Flanagan over state fraud scandals during their debates. Former Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz won Minnesota in the 2024 presidential election by more than four percentage points over President Donald Trump, according to the Washington Examiner. [1][12][13]