Michele Tafoya, the Republican Senate nominee in Minnesota, recently denied ever saying she was embarrassed to be from the state she wants to represent, but a digital deep-dive review by CNN's KFile found she had done just that.
In a local radio interview earlier this month, the former NFL sideline reporter was asked whether Minnesota embarrassed her, and she insisted that wasn't true. "If I were embarrassed to be from Minnesota, would I be running for the United States Senate to represent Minnesota?" Tafoya said. "I have never said that."
But in a since-deleted March 2023 post uncovered by the KFile team, Tafoya wrote: "I'm embarrassed to say I live in Minnesota. This state has gone so far left it's amazing any of the snow still sticks."
When another user suggested she leave, Tafoya replied, "That's the plan! Have a great day!" She also said she was considering moving to Tennessee.
According to KFile, the Republican candidate had said at least four times in the past three years in posts and on her podcast that she planned to leave Minnesota. She often called herself a part-time Floridian and praised Gov. Ron DeSantis' state as a model of conservative governance.
"I'm sitting here in snow and cold today, but eventually I'm gonna be a Florida resident," she said on her podcast in 2022.
In August 2024, responding to a post calling Minnesota "California Midwest," Tafoya wrote, "Fleeing soon." In September 2025, four months before launching her campaign, she said on a podcast that Minnesota was no longer as safe, clean or beautiful, adding, "We have Ilhan Omar and Tim Walz. So, suffice to say, I won't be here for the long haul."
In the radio interview, Tafoya acknowledged she once wanted to leave. "Well two years ago I was in that place," she said. She said her children, who attend school in the state and "love it here," changed her mind.
In a statement to CNN, Tafoya said, "I love Minnesota and I got into this race to fight for it." She also said that Minnesotans tell her they "won't be staying forever if we can't turn this state around."
Minnesota Democrats have already launched a page calling Tafoya "Minnesota's Biggest Hater."
She faces Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in November for the seat left open by retiring Sen. Tina Smith. Republicans haven't won a Senate race in Minnesota since 2002.
