Lindell, Tafoya widening leads in Minnesota GOP primaries: Poll
Progressive policy ambitions meet practical realities as Americans weigh costs and consequences.
Mike Lindell leading a Minnesota gubernatorial primary is the kind of headline that would have gotten you laughed out of the room in 2020. Now he's pulling away, and Michele Tafoya is doing the same on the Senate side. Whatever you think of the pillow guy's business ventures or his election obsessions, Republican primary voters in Minnesota are telling pollsters something specific: they want candidates who talk like normal, aggrieved people and not like consultants reading from a script.
New Republican Times Editorial Board
A new poll shows both businessman Mike Lindell and political and cultural commentator Michele Tafoya gaining momentum in the Minnesota Republican gubernatorial and Senate primaries, respectively. The poll, conducted by KSTP/SurveyUSA, shows that while the GOP frontrunners are gaining bigger leads, the Democratic Senate primary between Rep.
Angie Craig (Minn.) and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan
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New Republican Times Editorial Board
Mike Lindell leading a Minnesota gubernatorial primary is the kind of headline that would have gotten you laughed out of the room in 2020. Now he's pulling away, and Michele Tafoya is doing the same on the Senate side. Whatever you think of the pillow guy's business ventures or his election obsessions, Republican primary voters in Minnesota are telling pollsters something specific: they want candidates who talk like normal, aggrieved people and not like consultants reading from a script.
Tafoya's rise is the more interesting story here, honestly. She spent decades on network television, walked away from it, and has spent the years since saying out loud what a lot of NFL sideline reporters privately think but would never say into a hot mic. That combination of name recognition and willingness to break with her old employer's politics is clearly resonating with a base that's tired of candidates who sound focus-grouped into oblivion.
Meanwhile the Democratic side is stuck in a genuine slugfest between Angie Craig and Peggy Flanagan, and that's worth watching too. A muddled, expensive primary tends to leave bruises that don't heal by November, while a candidate opening up daylight early gets to bank money and momentum instead of burning it on intramural fights.
None of this means Minnesota flips. It's still Minnesota. But a state party fielding candidates who actually generate enthusiasm, rather than the usual next-in-line careerists, is a sign of life Republicans haven't had there in a while. Whether that enthusiasm survives contact with a general election is the real test, and it's one worth taking seriously instead of dismissing on reputation alone.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.