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MIDTERMS 2026 - SENATE

Minnesota

LEAN D D-held - Open: Smith is retiring

Election day is Tuesday, November 3 - 7 days away.

DEMOCRAT

Peggy Flanagan

Lieutenant governor of Minnesota since 2019, serving under Gov. Tim Walz. source

REPUBLICAN

Michele Tafoya

Former NFL sideline reporter for NBC's Sunday Night Football and political podcast host; first run for office. source

Where they differ

Only issues they disagree on. Each position is something the candidate said, voted for or published, linked to where.

Tariffs

FLANAGAN

Says current tariffs 'are killing our industries' and Congress should take back control of them. source

TAFOYA

Calls tariffs a tool to bring other countries to the table and 'level the playing field.' source

ICE and immigration enforcement

FLANAGAN

Wants ICE dismantled and replaced: 'ICE should absolutely be ripped apart'; backs a path to citizenship. source

TAFOYA

Says America should be 'a nation of immigration and also a nation of law and order'; faulted Noem's rollout, not ICE itself. source

Medicare for All

FLANAGAN

Supports Medicare for All and restoring the 2025 Medicare and Medicaid cuts. source

TAFOYA

Called Medicare for All 'a pipedream.' source

Supreme Court nominees

FLANAGAN

Said she does not expect to back Trump's Supreme Court appointees. source

TAFOYA

Says she would vote to confirm 'conservative, strict-constructionist judges.' source

The money

Each campaign's own filings with the Federal Election Commission, for the whole 2026 cycle. Reports are filed on different days, so check the date under each name.

RAISED

Flanagan $11.6M

Tafoya $12.5M

SPENT

Flanagan $10.6M

Tafoya $9.7M

CASH LEFT

Flanagan $993K

Tafoya $2.8M

Flanagan: through 2026-10-14; Tafoya: through 2026-10-14. Source: FEC, read 2026-10-23.

Outside groups

Money super PACs, parties and other groups reported spending on their own to help or hurt each candidate.

Peggy Flanagan

to help $272K

to hurt $7.4M

Michele Tafoya

to help $20K

to hurt $444K

Independent expenditures reported to the FEC for the 2026 cycle, primary included. Groups that do not have to report (some issue ads) are not counted.

Latest polling

A KSTP/SurveyUSA poll released Oct. 14 (likely voters, +/-4.2) had Flanagan at 45% and Tafoya at 42%; a Star Tribune/KARE 11 Mason-Dixon poll (from Oct. 7) had Flanagan 47%-43%. source

Minnesota right now

How the state is doing going into the vote, from the people who count it.

JOBLESS RATE

4.5%

US: 4.2%

September 2026, seasonally adjusted, preliminary. Source: BLS

GAS, REGULAR

$4.18

US: $4.27

State average on 2026-10-27. Source: AAA

From Newzino in Minnesota

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Photos from Wikimedia Commons: Peggy Flanagan by Travellers & Tinkers, CC BY-SA 4.0; Michele Tafoya by Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Positions checked 2026-10-23. Things they agree on are left out on purpose. Spot something wrong? Use the feedback button and we will fix it.