Michele Tafoya is telling Minnesota voters she’s a pro-choice Republican, and some of the party’s most committed abortion opponents aren’t happy about it.
It’s a gamble. Ms. Tafoya is an underdog in a deep blue state that hasn’t elected a Republican statewide in two decades. Still, the former NFL sideline reporter has won praise for running a disciplined Senate campaign against Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan.
But her latest ad has social and religious conservatives raising eyebrows.
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“A senator should work for Minnesota, not party bosses, lobbyists or even the president,” she says in the ad, echoing a stance she has taken since entering the race. “I’m a pro-choice Republican not afraid to stand up to my party.”
She adds: “When Trump is right, I will work with him. When he is wrong, I will stand up for Minnesota.”
The reaction online was swift.
“Pro-life Republicans will stay home after watching this ad,” said Mercedes Schlapp, a senior fellow at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Clare Anne Ath, a Catholic and pro-life advocate, was more blunt.
“Being ’pro-choice’ should be disqualifying for any Republican candidate,” she said. “If you can’t defend the most fundamental right of all — the right to LIFE — what exactly are you conserving? And what’s the point of calling yourself a Republican?”
Ms. Flanagan took umbrage, too. “There is only one pro-choice candidate in the Senate race, and it sure as hell isn’t Michele Tafoya,” she said.
President Trump, meanwhile, doesn’t seem bothered.
At his rally in Youngstown, Ohio, this week, the president urged the crowd: “You have to vote for Michele Tafoya, who’s a very respected person.”
Larry Jacobs, a political science professor at the University of Minnesota, said Ms. Tafoya is planting her pro‑choice flag because she has “hit a wall and may lose unless she can attract independents.” He said the risk is that frustration with Mr. Trump’s handling of the economy makes it hard to reach those voters.
“The only significant change may be to lose some of her base, which is fiercely pro-life,” he said.
Republicans have struggled to crack the code in Minnesota.
The last GOP candidate to win statewide was then-Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who secured reelection in 2006. He was pro-life.
Ms. Tafoya is trying to build a winning coalition of conservatives, suburban voters, disaffected Democrats and independents who are tired of Democrats calling the shots.
She’s also tried to capitalize on voter anger over the fraud scandal that siphoned hundreds of millions of dollars in federal food relief meant for needy children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She’s received some help from Washington, too.
During a recent stop in the state, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he’d be “delighted” to have Ms. Tafoya working alongside him and suggested she’d be a natural fit on the Agriculture Committee.
“I know she would vote right for the state of Minnesota, and for the farmers and ranchers,” the South Dakota Republican said. He called her a top-tier candidate and said Minnesota voters are “really fortunate” to have her on the ballot.
Ms. Tafoya and former Sen. John Sununu in New Hampshire are giving Republicans hope they can flip more seats than that of the retiring Sen. Gary Peters in Michigan.
Still, Minnesota has repeatedly dashed GOP hopes.
In 2016, Mr. Trump nearly became the first Republican nominee to carry the state since Richard Nixon in 1972, falling by less than 2 points to Hillary Clinton. It was the closest a Republican had come since Walter Mondale beat Ronald Reagan by less than a percentage point in 1984.
He tried again in 2020, making multiple stops, and telling supporters at one point, “I lose Minnesota, I’m never coming back.” He lost it to Joe Biden by more than 7 points.
But team Trump took another shot in 2024, with senior advisers telling donors the campaign planned to push into Minnesota.
Mr. Trump returned for a GOP fundraising dinner in May and predicted he’d win the state. He lost it in November, even as he won neighboring states, including Wisconsin and Iowa, on his way back to the White House.
“It’s hard to win because they cheat on their elections,” Mr. Trump said at his Ohio rally this week. “I thought I won Minnesota three times. I was sure I won it the last time.”
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