President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Republican Michele Tafoya and the federal raid on Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar’s home contributed to Tafoya’s loss against Democrat Peggy Flanagan for a Minnesota U.S. Senate seat, a political science professor told Newsweek. Flanagan, Minnesota's lieutenant governor under Governor Tim Walz, won the race in Tuesday's midterm elections with 53.7 percent of the vote to Tafoya’s 43.6 percent.
Flanagan’s victory came as Democrats flipped many U.S. Senate, House and multiple gubernatorial seats, including in traditionally Republican states such as Texas and Ohio. She is the first Native American woman elected to the U.S.
While Minnesota has been thought of as a safe spot for Democrats, having last elected a Republican to the Senate in 2002, the GOP had its best chance in 20 years at flipping the seat, Hamline University professor of political science and legal studies David Schultz previously told Newsweek, citing voter concerns with corruption as one of the reasons. Schultz told Newsweek on Wednesday that there were two reasons behind Tafoya’s loss: Trump’s late endorsement and the Homeland Security Investigations raid on Omar’s Washington, D.C., home on October 12. Both occurred only weeks before Election Day.
Schultz also credited Trump’s endorsement, which came in mid-October, as something that “went wrong” for Tafoya with the race. Prior to his endorsement, Tafoya had managed to distance herself from Trump. University of Minnesota political science professor Larry Jacobs told Newsweek that Democrats securing their Minnesota Senate win was “a function of the backlash against Trump and the high cost of living blamed on him.” “No other issues broke through,” Jacobs said.
In early October, prior to the Trump endorsement and Omar raid, Tafoya was polling within the margin of error of Flanagan. While a GOP win was “still a longshot,” Schultz said, there was still a chance it could have happened. While Flanagan expressed her gratitude to Minnesota voters on Wednesday, Tafoya shared a quote from Wall Street Journal columnist James Freeman on her X page.
We’re blessed to live in a land where a sturdy Constitution protects our liberties as we freely express our choices by voting. Now it’s the job of all politicians to listen to Tuesday’s message.” "Minnesota, I am so incredibly grateful for each and every person who supported this campaign," Flanagan posted. "Chi miigwech." In the indigenous Ojibwe language, chi miigwech translates to thank you very much.
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