Federal race · November 3, 2026
U.S. Senator
U.S. senators represent Minnesota in the U.S. Senate, voting on federal legislation and budgets, confirming presidential nominees, and ratifying treaties.
6-year term. Open seat: no incumbent is running. Regular election for the full six-year term beginning Jan. 3, 2027. Incumbent Sen. Tina Smith (DFL) is not seeking reelection. In the Aug. 11, 2026 primaries, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan won the DFL nomination over U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, and Michele Tafoya won the Republican nomination over Adam Schwarze and Royce White. Libertarian Rebecca Whiting and independent Marisa Simonetti qualified for the general-election ballot by petition.
The candidates
Listed alphabetically by last name.
Peggy Flanagan
Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota (since 2019)Flanagan has been Minnesota's lieutenant governor since 2019, after serving in the Minnesota House and on the Minneapolis school board. A citizen of the White Earth Nation, she says she would be the first Native American woman to serve in the U.S. Senate. Her campaign emphasizes affordability, Medicare for All, ending corporate PAC money in elections, and opposition to the Trump administration's policies, including the Iran war.
Marisa Simonetti
BusinesswomanSimonetti is an Edina businesswoman running as an independent. She ran for the Hennepin County Board in 2024. Her campaign frames the race as "We the People vs. The System" and focuses on housing, health care costs, small business and renewable energy.
Michele Tafoya
Former sports broadcaster and political commentatorTafoya is a former sports broadcaster who spent about three decades at CBS, ESPN/ABC and NBC, most recently as the sideline reporter for NBC's Sunday Night Football until 2022. She has since worked as a political commentator and is making her first run for office. Her campaign emphasizes government fraud, public safety, lower costs and taxes, and what she describes as independence from party leadership.
Rebecca Whiting
Farmer and small business ownerWhiting is a Bemidji farmer, small business owner and Army combat veteran who served two tours in Iraq as a medic. She was the Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate in 2024 and qualified for the 2026 ballot by petition. Her campaign calls for ending foreign wars, ending the Federal Reserve, deregulation and cutting government.
Compare on the issues
Summaries of each candidate's stated positions. See each profile for sources and details.
| Issue | Peggy Flanagan Democratic-Farmer-Labor | Marisa Simonetti Independent | Michele Tafoya Republican | Rebecca Whiting Libertarian |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foreign Policy | Calls the Iran war illegal and says it must end. Supports a lasting Gaza ceasefire and a two-state solution, says she would have voted to halt offensive weapons sales to Israel, and supports Ukraine and NATO. | No public position found yet | Says Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon, while opposing a prolonged conflict with ground troops. Says the U.S. should push back on China's influence, particularly in South America. | Supports non-intervention: no use of the military abroad unless the U.S. is attacked, no entangling alliances, and bringing troops home. |
| Health Care | Supports Medicare for All. Until it passes, would ban insurers' prior authorization processes, have Medicare and Medicaid negotiate drug prices, and restore federal Medicaid cuts. | Supports lowering costs and broadening access, including mental health care, addiction treatment and reproductive care. | Says she will take on insurers, middlemen and price-gougers, cut prescription drug costs, and keep health care decisions with patients rather than government or corporate bureaucrats. | No public position found yet |
| Abortion | Supports the Women's Health Protection Act to restore Roe v. Wade protections nationally and would vote to repeal the Hyde Amendment. | No public position found yet | In a 2015 interview, described herself as "a pro-choice conservative." Her 2026 campaign issues page does not address abortion. | No public position found yet |
| Agriculture | Supports a five-year farm bill, farmers' right to repair their equipment, biofuels, and reversing tariffs she says have hurt farm exports. | No public position found yet | Says Minnesota needs a new farm bill and supports changes to SNAP. | No public position found yet |
| Economy & Jobs | Supports a $17 federal minimum wage tied to inflation, national paid family and medical leave, the PRO Act, and an expanded Child Tax Credit. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Supports ending the Federal Reserve and deregulating so small businesses can grow. |
| Elections & Democracy | Supports banning corporate money in elections, requiring donor disclosure, reversing Citizens United, and banning stock trading by federal elected officials. | No public position found yet | Supports voter ID, paper ballots and the SAVE Act. | No public position found yet |
| Immigration | Her platform says ICE should be dismantled and the immigration system reimagined, and supports ending mass deportations and a path to legal status for long-term undocumented residents. After the primary she said ICE "as it currently exists is not it" and called for comprehensive reform. | No public position found yet | Supports deporting immigrants in the country illegally who commit crimes, opposes efforts to abolish ICE, and supports legislation to deport immigrants convicted of fraud. | No public position found yet |
| Taxes | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Opposes repealing the 2025 federal tax cuts and any tax increase on the middle class, and says Congress should spend, borrow and tax less. | Opposes taxation, saying "Taxation is theft." |
| Veterans | No public position found yet | Supports expanded VA services, mental health and job programs for veterans, and veterans-only housing. | No public position found yet | Supports privatizing the VA so veterans can get care in the private market. |
| Energy & Environment | No public position found yet | Supports solar, wind, geothermal and community-owned renewable energy, weatherization loans, and stronger pollution enforcement. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |
| Guns | Supports banning assault weapons, high-capacity magazines and ghost guns, along with funding for local police and reentry programs. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |
| Housing | No public position found yet | Supports mixed-income housing near transit, rural housing for farmworkers, supportive housing, and emergency rental assistance. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |
| Public Safety | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Supports more funding, equipment and training for law enforcement and opposes efforts to remove officers' legal protections. Supports tougher federal mandatory minimum sentences for fraud and withholding federal funding from states that do not adopt anti-fraud controls. | No public position found yet |


