President Donald Trump said Monday that the only way Republican Senate candidate Michele Tafoya can lose Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race is if Democrats cheat, giving her his “Complete and Total Endorsement” in a Truth Social post.
The president restated his backing for Tafoya, a former NFL sideline reporter running against Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, in a post published Monday that cast the outcome in terms of ballot fraud.
Trump urged supporters to rally behind Tafoya and warned against tampering with results once voting ends.
“Don’t allow them to play with the Votes after the race is over. The Federal Government will be watching closely,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “The only way she can lose is if they cheat by playing games with the Ballots as they come in.”
The president tied the warning to his own history in the state, claiming he had been denied past victories there.
“I won Minnesota three times, but they didn’t give me the Victories,” Trump wrote, adding that Minnesota “hasn’t been ‘won’ since 1972, when Richard Nixon claimed the trophy.”
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon has rejected claims of fraud in the state’s voting and defended its results as legitimate.
Flanagan’s campaign has tied Tafoya to the president at every turn. Responding to Trump’s earlier endorsement at a rally this month, spokesperson Lexi Byler argued the former broadcaster had chased his approval all year.
“Michele Tafoya spent all year auditioning for Donald Trump’s endorsement, and tonight she got it,” Byler said. “To be clear — Trump has lost Minnesota three times, and Michele Tafoya is about to be number four.”
Tafoya has kept her distance from the president even while accepting his support. She said the only verdict she cares about arrives on Election Day.
“The ultimate endorsement will come for me on November 3rd from the state of Minnesota,” Tafoya said. In a recent campaign ad, she pledged to break with Trump when warranted, saying, “When Trump is right, I’ll work with him. When he’s wrong, I’ll stand up for Minnesota.”
The endorsement comes as the two compete for the open seat left by retiring Democratic Sen. Tina Smith, with recent polling showing Tafoya trailing Flanagan by roughly four points. No Republican has won a Senate race in Minnesota since Norm Coleman in 2002.
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