Michele Tafoya says Minnesota needs political outsider 'with a spine' in Republican Senate bid

Former sportscaster Michele Tafoya announced her bid for the U.S. Senate as a Republican, stating that Minnesota needs an outsider "with a spine who's going to hold politicians accountable."

Tafoya said Minnesota has sustained "a failure of leadership at just about every level," blaming career politicians for allowing fraud to flourish and letting "the far left" turn the state into a "war zone."

"This isn't really right versus left. This is right versus wrong. And I want to get us back to that common sense, that normalcy that built Minnesota and really built this country, instead of the craziness and the corruption," Tafoya said Wednesday on the "Brian Kilmeade Show."

She said witnessing the fraud, rioting and "total failure of the political elites" in Minnesota pushed her to leave her sportscasting career and dive into politics.

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"These politicians aren't doing the job," she said. "I'm going to try to step up and do it. If not now, when?"

She asserted that Minnesota's problems were solvable, that law and order could be restored and that the middle class could thrive, but that time was of the essence.

"I fear that if we don't do it here in the midterms, it may not get done. So we're going to need everyone to help. We need all hands on deck," Tafoya said.

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Minnesota's most recent Republican senator, Norm Coleman, served from 2003 to 2009. 

When asked why she believed she could be elected as the state's first Republican senator in more than 20 years, she responded with a bit of humor from the sports industry.

"Indiana University was not supposed to win a national championship in football, ever, and they just did. So I think the timing is ripe," Tafoya said. "I think that Minnesotans are exhausted by what's been going on. I talk to Minnesotans every day, and they don't want to leave this state, but many of them are considering it."

Tafoya acknowledged she faces an "uphill climb." Nevertheless, she said things are changing in the North Star State.

"There is a large swath of Minnesotans who are unhappy about what's going on in the cities... and an even larger swath that is really angry about the fraud, about being ripped off of billions of their dollars – dollars that were supposed to help children that ended up going to criminals," she said.

"So people, I think, are a little bit shocked by learning this. They see Tim Walz stepping down. They know he's toxic. So there is a change about to happen here in Minnesota, and I want to be part of that change."