Former Navy Seal wins GOP endorsement in crowded race for Senate

Former Navy Seal Adam Schwarze won over party activists at the GOP convention in Duluth Friday, beating former sports broadcaster Michele Tafoya in the crowded race for the U.S. Senate seat that will be vacated by Sen. Tina Smith, who is retiring.

Schwarze had just under 39% of delegate votes on the first ballot, after which he gained ground and won the endorsement with nearly 63% of the vote, the Star Tribune reported.

Tafoya, who came in second with about 32%, announced that she’ll compete in the August 11 primary, when all Republicans — and not just state delegates — will decide the GOP nominee between Schwarze and Tafoya.

The primary winner will face off in November against Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidates U.S. Rep. Angie Craig or Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who secured the DFL endorsement by default after Craig effectively conceded it.

Tafoya is a familiar face on sports fans’ televisions, whereas Schwarze is largely unknown to the public but has worked on appealing to the party’s Trump-loving base and positioned himself as “uncompromising” compared to the more moderate Tafoya, according to a recent profile in the Star Tribune. Tafoya has criticized Schwarze’s earlier donation to Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign.

The delegates’ choice mirrors the DFL party delegates’ preference for Flanagan, a progressive Democrat, over Craig, a centrist who has argued that she’ll better appeal to voters in the general election — though Flanagan is far better known to voters than Schwarze, having served for two terms with Gov. Tim Walz.

Also Friday, GOP delegates endorsed Nate George for state auditor over Scott Jensen, the 2022 GOP gubernatorial candidate. The party will endorse a gubernatorial candidate Saturday, when delegates will choose between House Speaker Lisa Demuth, former health care executive Kendall Qualls and pillow mogul Mike Lindell, as well as a few others.