Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michele Tafoya announced Monday that her campaign raised $2.62 million in the second quarter of 2026.
“Minnesotans are showing up in record numbers because they are serious about change and they know we can win this seat and deliver real results,” Tafoya said in a statement. “Too many times we’ve been told to accept the status quo and watch failed leadership make mistake after mistake. Well, Minnesotans are done with that.”
Alpha News contacted the other Republican and DFL candidates for U.S. Senate to inquire about their fundraising numbers for the second quarter. However, none of those campaigns immediately responded to media inquiries.
Tafoya is currently running for the U.S. Senate seat occupied by retiring DFL Sen. Tina Smith. Tafoya is seeking the Republican nomination for the seat and faces former NBA player Royce White and retired Navy Seal Adam Schwarze in the GOP primary.
Earlier this year, Schwarze received the GOP endorsement for the seat at the Republican state convention in Duluth.
Meanwhile, Congresswoman Angie Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan are seeking the DFL nomination for the seat. The primary fight between Craig and Flanagan has grown bitter in recent weeks with both candidates ramping up political attacks against one another.
Conversely, the Republican primary has been relatively quiet thus far.
Tafoya’s $2.62 million fundraising haul in Q2 is an improvement over her Q1 numbers. In Q1 of this year, Tafoya raised just over $2 million, outpacing every other candidate except Craig who brought in roughly $2.5 million.
A longtime sportscaster, Tafoya is considered the leading candidate to win the Republican nomination for the seat. In June, a KSTP/SurveyUSA poll of the GOP primary found Tafoya polling in first with 36% while White was at 15% and Schwarze was at 7%.
Additionally, an internal poll from Craig’s campaign found that Tafoya and Flanagan were tied in a potential general election matchup. However, that tie comes only after language tying Flanagan to Minnesota’s fraud saga was invoked.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
