Minnesota GOP Sees Fraud Scandal as Path Back to Power

MINNEAPOLIS — Republicans in Minnesota have not won a statewide race in 20 years. Some in the party believe a fraud scandal that has engulfed state government will end that streak.

Their optimism grew after Tuesday's primary, in which former sportscaster Michele Tafoya won the Senate nomination and state House Speaker Lisa Demuth won the nomination for governor. Both defeated rivals whom some GOP strategists considered too extreme for Minnesota's left-of-center electorate.

The new ticket moved quickly to attack Democrats over the fraud. Dozens of people have been convicted of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars meant to provide food, shelter, health care and child care to people in need. Republicans say Democratic leaders should have caught the scheme, which unfolded over years as organizations holding state social services contracts billed for services never provided and invented clients.

"We have seen now what all of these years of single-party rule has done to this state," Tafoya said Wednesday. "And it is mobilizing voters in a way that I think is new and refreshing and exciting."

Nationally, Republicans are largely on defense, working to hold narrow House and Senate majorities as President Donald Trump remains unpopular and voters take a dim view of the economy. Most competitive Senate seats this fall are Republican-held and in states Trump carried comfortably in 2024, such as Texas and Iowa. Minnesota is one of the party's few chances to go on offense.

Tafoya will face Sen. Amy Klobuchar's party in a state that is closer than the losing streak suggests: Trump lost Minnesota by 1.5 points in 2016, and the Legislature is split 101 Democrats to 100 Republicans, with a tied state House led by a Republican speaker under a power-sharing deal.

"The Republican party has just really struggled to field good candidates, to run strong campaigns, and as a result, it's withered," said Amy Frederiksen, a Republican strategist and former state Senate minority leader.

Democratic Gov. Tim Walz dropped his reelection bid amid the outcry. Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, the Democratic Senate nominee, emerged from a costly primary and drew immediate GOP attacks tying her to the fraud.

Democrats plan to tie Tafoya to Trump. "We are not about to give Donald Trump another loyal soldier like Michele Tafoya to take his orders and do his bidding," Flanagan said in her victory speech. She has also argued Republicans are disingenuous on corruption, saying Trump has used the presidency to enrich himself: "They're going to have to answer for that corruption."

Republicans still face obstacles, including Democrats galvanized by last winter's federal immigration operation in the Minneapolis metro area, which led to tense and deadly confrontations. Tafoya, backed early by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has no lengthy voting record and supports abortion rights up to 12 weeks.