4 candidates are on the ballot. Below is what each one says they stand for, what they have actually done in office or in public life, and the arguments published for and against them — each quoted from a named source rather than summarised by us.
Medium confidenceMedium confidenceThe candidate's stated positions and basic record are documented, but coverage is thin — often little independent reporting, or criticism from only one side.What would raise it: More independent reporting, a documented voting record, or published criticism from a named opponent would raise this.
What they say they stand for
Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.
Medicare for All.
A $17 federal minimum wage.
Affordable housing investment.
Getting corporate money out of politics.
Keeping abortion legal, which she led on at the state level.
Support for family farms and small businesses.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota since January 2019.
Minnesota State Representative from 2015; led Democrats on child care policy and helped form the People of Color and Indigenous Caucus.
Helped pass Minnesota's paid family and medical leave programme into law.
Part of the administration that made state investments in education, health care and housing.
Won the August 11 2026 DFL primary with 59% over U.S. Rep. Angie Craig.
Member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe; first Native American woman elected lieutenant governor in the United States.
Has publicly distanced herself from Gov. Tim Walz on the state's social service fraud cases.
Arguments in favor
She has a record of delivering rather than proposing: paid family and medical leave became law in Minnesota during her time as lieutenant governor, alongside investments in education, health care and housing.
— Peggy Flanagan for Minnesota campaign
She won the nomination decisively — 59% against a sitting member of Congress — running on Medicare for All, a $17 minimum wage and getting corporate money out of politics.
— Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, on her primary victory
She would be the first Native American woman in the U.S. Senate, and led the state fight to keep abortion legal in Minnesota.
— Peggy Flanagan for Minnesota campaign
Arguments against
She 'oversaw the worst fraud scandal in modern American history and is now running as one of the most radical socialist Senate candidates on the map.'
— Sen. Tim Scott, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee
The Feeding Our Future welfare fraud, in which fraudsters took millions from state programmes during the pandemic, happened on her administration's watch and will define this race; she is tainted by Tim Walz's record.
— U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer
She is an extremist whose positions — including dismantling ICE and her record on transgender rights — are out of step with Minnesota.
— National Republican Senatorial Committee
What we couldn’t verify
What direct responsibility, if any, the lieutenant governor's office had for the oversight failures in the Feeding Our Future case; the criticism asserts responsibility and her campaign disputes it, and no neutral account settling this was located.
Her current position on ICE, as distinct from the NRSC's characterisation of it.
Opposing transgender women competing in women's sports.
Describing herself as a 'pro-choice conservative with libertarian leanings.'
Bringing back what she calls courage and common sense.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Sports broadcaster for more than three decades, including as NBC's Sunday Night Football sideline reporter; retired from television in 2022.
Host of a political podcast after leaving broadcasting.
Announced her Senate candidacy on January 21 2026.
Won the August 11 2026 Republican primary with 52.1% over Adam Schwarze and Royce White, after losing the Minnesota Republican Party endorsement.
Has never held or previously run for public office.
Stated on Fox News's Gutfeld! in February 2026 that 'almost 30 percent of Californians are homeless,' a claim widely reported as inaccurate.
Arguments in favor
She won the primary on name recognition and an electability pitch even after the party establishment endorsed someone else, and she brings a fundraising advantage into the general election.
— Star Tribune reporting on the primary result
Her campaign is built on stopping the fraud in Minnesota's social service programmes, backing law enforcement, and cutting costs and taxes for the middle class.
— Michele Tafoya for Senate campaign
As a self-described pro-choice conservative she argues there is more room in the Republican Party than people realise for candidates like her, which she presents as an asset in a state Republicans have not won statewide in years.
— Michele Tafoya, in an interview with NOTUS
Arguments against
Her campaign will be plagued by a history of far-right positions out of step with Minnesotans, including serving as a spokesperson for an anti-abortion group.
— Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
She supports policies that would spike health care costs for up to 90,000 Minnesotans, and backs the Trump administration's approach to affordability and to health care.
— Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
She has never run for or held any office, and has made demonstrably false public claims — asserting on television that almost 30 percent of Californians are homeless.
— Star Tribune and Axios reporting on her candidacy
What we couldn’t verify
How to reconcile her self-description as pro-choice with the DSCC's claim that she served as spokesperson for an anti-abortion group; both assertions were found, and no source reconciling them was located.
Her specific position on federal abortion legislation.
What health care policy the DSCC's '90,000 Minnesotans' figure refers to.
Libertarian Party platform positions; her specific 2026 policy positions could not be established from sources located.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Farmer and business owner.
Iraq War veteran.
No elected office located.
Arguments in favor
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
Arguments against
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
What we couldn’t verify
Her stated positions on essentially every issue; no substantive coverage of her campaign was found.
No coverage critical of her by name could be located, so no arguments against her are recorded here rather than substituting criticism of her party. With no criticism available, no arguments for her are recorded either.
Her specific 2026 policy positions could not be established from sources located.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Real estate investor.
No elected office located.
Arguments in favor
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
Arguments against
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
What we couldn’t verify
Her stated positions on essentially every issue; no substantive coverage of her campaign was found.
No coverage critical of her by name could be located, so no arguments against her are recorded here. With no criticism available, no arguments for her are recorded either.
Whether she is formally ballot-qualified or a write-in; the Politics1 listing marks her as an independent candidate but this was not confirmed against the Minnesota Secretary of State.
Positions and criticism are quoted from the named sources, not our assessments. This is built to help you start getting informed — confirm the official candidate list with your election authority before you vote.
Open seat: Democratic incumbent Tina Smith is not seeking a second full term. Roster established from NBC News, Axios, CBS Minnesota, the Star Tribune and Politics1's Minnesota candidate listing, cross-checked. Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan won the August 11 2026 Democratic-Farmer-Labor primary with 59%, defeating U.S. Rep. Angie Craig. Michele Tafoya won the Republican primary with 52.1% over Adam Schwarze and Royce White, despite having lost the Minnesota Republican Party's endorsement. Minnesota's Democratic party is formally the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party; Flanagan's party is recorded as 'Democratic' to match the schema. Kevin Dwire of the Socialist Workers Party is listed by Politics1 as a write-in rather than a printed ballot candidate and is therefore not included below. No Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis or Legal Marijuana Now Senate candidate could be confirmed for 2026.
This is one contest on a longer ballot
A Minnesota ballot also carries state legislative districts, county offices, judicial seats and often local questions — and which of them you vote on is decided by your street address, not your city or ZIP code.
Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at Minnesota Secretary of State.