2026 midterms · Minnesota
Minnesota Senate
U.S. Senate · primary Aug 11, 2026 · general election Nov 3, 2026
- candidate
- 1
- Democrats
- 0
- Republicans
- 1
candidate advanced
Michele Tafoya (R) advanced from the primary held on Aug 11, 2026. The general election is on Nov 3, 2026.
The candidates
One candidate recorded as advancing from the primary. One running for an open seat. Tina Smith (D), who holds the seat now, is not on the list of those advancing.
Status is the FEC’s: an incumbent holds the seat, a challenger runs against one, and an open seat has no incumbent running. The lab records a primary’s result once it is official; candidates who did not advance are no longer listed.
Democrats
No candidate recorded as advancing.
Republicans
Open seat · advanced from the primary · 971 statements classified · $12.5M raised
Holds the seat now: Tina Smith (D), not among the candidates recorded as advancing.
Notes
What they say
Only Michele Tafoya has enough classified statements to measure. The other no candidates have fewer than 10.
An AI model reads each statement and marks the kinds of statement it contains; each bar is the share of a candidate’s statements with that label. Incumbent members of Congress are measured on everything they publish in office, everyone else on posts on X. A rate describes what was said, not whether it was right.
How do the candidates’ statements compare?
Share of each candidate’s statements with each label; grey tick: median of ranked Senate candidates
Personal attacks
Median 3.1% · axis 0–70%
- Tafoya R6.1%
Policy criticism
Median 18% · axis 0–70%
- Tafoya R9.9%
Policy discussion
Median 61% · axis 0–70%
- Tafoya R33%
Bipartisanship
Median 5.3% · axis 0–70%
- Tafoya R1.3%
Credit claiming
Median 15% · axis 0–70%
- Tafoya R3.3%
Show the data
| Candidate | Party | Statements | Personal attacks | Policy criticism | Policy discussion | Bipartisanship | Credit claiming |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michele Tafoya | R | 971 | 6.1% | 9.9% | 33% | 1.3% | 3.3% |
| Median, ranked Senate candidates | 3.1% | 18% | 61% | 5.3% | 15% |
The five kinds of statement
Personal attacks. Overtly questions a named person’s character, integrity or loyalty, or calls them names. Criticising a record or a policy does not count.
Policy criticism. Objects to a specific policy, law or court ruling with fact-based arguments, without personal attacks or emotional appeals.
Policy discussion. Discusses a specific public policy or policy area (health care, taxes, defense, …).
Bipartisanship. Emphasises working across the aisle, compromise or common ground between the parties.
Credit claiming. Claims credit for passing legislation, securing funding or grants, or other accomplishments in office.
Candidates with fewer than 10 classified statements are left out. The grey tick is the median of the ranked Senate candidates (50 or more statements), for scale.
Money
Michele Tafoya reports $12.5M raised. The candidate has campaign-finance figures from the FEC.
Totals each campaign reports to the Federal Election Commission for the 2026 cycle: money raised, money spent and cash on hand at the end of the latest filing.
How much has each candidate raised?
Total receipts reported to the FEC, with cash on hand
- Michele Tafoya$12.5M$2.8M on hand
Show the data
| Candidate | Party | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand | Debts | Individuals | PACs | Party committees | Own money | Candidate loans | Through |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michele Tafoya | R | $12.5M | $9.7M | $2.8M | $442.1K | $11.1M | $334.3K | $62.0K | $7,878 | $0 | — |