Michele Tafoya hopes national Republicans put money behind their praise

LE SUEUR — Michele Tafoya has TV skills and an opponent saddled with the state’s fraud scandal. What she needs now is money.

Polls show Tafoya is in a dead heat with Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, even with significant national political headwinds forcing Republicans to spend heavily in traditionally red strongholds such as Iowa, Alaska and Kansas.

At a campaign stop with farmers on Monday in Le Sueur, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., boasted that Tafoya is a strong candidate with a convincing message to give Republicans hope for winning in a state they’ve mostly surrendered.

But he was noncommittal on deploying some of Senate Republicans’ vast war chest to boost Tafoya’s campaign before the Nov. 3 election. Fox News reported in August that the Senate Leadership Fund, the super PAC aligned with Thune, and allied groups had raised more than $500 million for the midterms thus far.

“We’ve got a big map this year. It’s a very competitive environment,” said Thune, who’s touring battleground states. “But Minnesota is unique in a lot of ways.”

Tafoya has a strong pitch that she can be the first Republican to win a Senate seat in Minnesota in nearly 25 years. She has high name recognition from her successful career as a sports reporter on virtually every major television network. She isn’t bogged down with any major personal scandals besides frequently bashing Minnesota and threatening to decamp to Florida. And her opponent is an easy target to hammer on the fleecing of the state’s generous safety-net programs, which unfolded during her two terms as No. 2 in state government.

“I think we can make a very strong case out of all these Senate races … This is one worth investing in,” Tafoya said. “We’re going to talk. We haven’t had that conversation yet.”

Money isn’t everything, as Flanagan showed when she trounced U.S. Rep. Angie Craig in the Democratic primary despite being far outspent.

Monday’s stop at the Pfarr family’s farm — 4,000 acres of corn, soybeans, alfalfa, peas and hogs about an hour southwest of Minneapolis — was Tafoya’s first open press event since the August primary.

After a private roundtable with farmers organized by the Minnesota Farm Bureau, Thune and Tafoya briefly addressed the press to promote Republicans’ work on a farm bill and reaffirm their commitment to legalizing year-round E15 fuel, which would be a boon for corn growers whose crops become ethanol.

GOP Senate candidate Michele Tafoya reports assets totaling $10.7M to $37.9M

Farmers have been whipsawed by President Donald Trump’s trade war, which hurt grain exports, and war with Iran, which drove up fuel costs.

Nevertheless, many farmers are sticking with him, and the Minnesota Farm Bureau endorsed Tafoya for Senate.

Flanagan held an event at a gas station in Brooklyn Park on Monday with Minnesota Farmers Union President Gary Wertish to draw attention to high fuel prices, though it hardly needed pointing out. Gas station signs are serving as a kind of campaign ad for Democrats across the country.

Matthew Pfarr, whose family hosted Tafoya, approached the current state of affairs with equanimity. He said farmers face ups and downs no matter which party controls the government.

“So, farmers have gotten quite good at weathering those,” Pfarr said.

Asked whether he was backing Tafoya, Pfarr demurred.

“We will host anyone who wants to come to the farm,” Pfarr said. “I prefer not to discuss my politics, personally.”