¶ Overview
Tafoya repeatedly insulted Minnesota, and made it clear that she did not want to be there. Tafoya said that she would be "fleeing" Minnesota soon. Tafoya also called Minnesota a "provincial" state. Tafoya even said "the last people I'm going to answer to are the Minnesotans who send me there." Though Tafoya denies ever saying that she was embarrassed to live in Minnesota, her deleted Tweets say otherwise.
¶ Tafoya Said She Would Be “Fleeing” Minnesota
Tafoya Called Herself A “Future Former-Minnesotan.” Michele Tafoya tweeted, “Right there with you, ladies. From a former Californian and a future former-Minnesotan (which is doing its best to copy the Golden State).” [Twitter, @michele_tafoya, 10/10/24]
Tafoya Said She Was A “Native Californian” Who Would Be “Fleeing Soon” From Minnesota. Michele Tafoya tweeted, “As a native Californian who moved to Minnesota in 1994, I know. Fleeing soon. https://t.co/uM3sWKTmbc” [Twitter, @michele_tafoya, 8/12/24]
¶ Tafoya Repeatedly Suggested She Would Leave Minnesota
Tafoya Repeatedly Suggested She Would Leave Minnesota. According to CNN, “The deleted exchange was part of a broader pattern of Tafoya criticizing the state she is now running to represent. A CNN KFile review found that, in the years before launching her Senate campaign, in tweets and on her podcast, Tafoya repeatedly said she planned to leave Minnesota. At times she described Minnesota in sharply negative terms because of its politics, while often identifying herself as a part-time Floridian and praising that state as a model of conservative governance. In just the past three years, Tafoya told followers at least four separate times that she planned to leave the state.” [CNN, 9/23/26]
¶ Tafoya Described Herself As A “Florida Woman”
Tafoya Described Herself As A “Florida Woman” And Suggested She Would Move There. According to CNN, “‘You were smart enough to move south,’ Tafoya told a guest on her podcast in 2022, adding, ‘I’m sitting here in snow and cold today, but eventually I’m gonna be a Florida resident.’ A few months later, Tafoya described herself on her podcast as ‘sort of a Florida woman,’ because she lived part time and owned a house there. References to Florida were not isolated to her podcast. In tweets, Tafoya repeatedly praised Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis while highlighting the state’s policies as a model for other states. In a tweet in September 2023, Tafoya, referring to herself as a Florida resident, shared a Wall Street Journal opinion article praising DeSantis’ response to Hurricane Idalia that argued it would be an asset to any forthcoming president campaign. ‘What Florida residents (including me) understand about @GovRonDeSantis,’ she wrote.” [CNN, 9/23/26]
¶ Tafoya Suggested She Was Fleeing Minnesota Merely Four Months Before Announcing Her Candidacy
Tafoya Suggested She Was Fleeing Minnesota Merely Four Months Before Announcing Her Candidacy. According to CNN, “In August 2024, Tafoya quote-tweeted a post arguing Minnesota had become ‘California Midwest,’ and was ruined by ‘half a century of kooks and communists.’ She responded, ‘as a native Californian who moved to Minnesota in 1994, I know. Fleeing soon.’ A year later, after a shooting at a Catholic school in Minnesota, she invoked the same idea again while attacking Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom for commenting on the tragedy. ‘I was born in CA and left… I moved to Minnesota and will be leaving. The GOP is in charge of neither state,’ she said. In July 2025, Tafoya said on a podcast, ‘There are a lot of people leaving, and I think I’ll be one of them in the near future.’ Later, in September she added, ‘When I first moved to Minnesota, I really liked it here. It was safe and clean and beautiful and culturally diverse. And now it is not as safe, it is not as clean, it is not as beautiful, and we have Ilhan Omar and Tim Walz. So, suffice to say, I won’t be here for the long haul.’ Four months later, she announced her candidacy to be Minnesota’s next senator.” [CNN, 9/23/26]
¶ Despite Claiming Otherwise, Tafoya Said She Was Embarrassed To Live In Minnesota
Despite Claiming Otherwise, Tafoya Said She Was Embarrassed To Live In Minnesota In A Since-Deleted Tweet. According to CNN, “In a local radio interview earlier this month, Michele Tafoya, the Republican Senate nominee in Minnesota and former sports broadcaster, was asked about her past criticism of the state and whether she was embarrassed by Minnesota. ‘If I were embarrassed to be from Minnesota, would I be running for the United States Senate to represent Minnesota?’ Tafoya asked, before adding, ‘I have never said that.’ But three years ago, in a since-deleted tweet uncovered by CNN’s KFile, Tafoya said exactly that. ‘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,’ Tafoya posted in March 2023.” [CNN, 9/23/26]
¶ Tafoya Called Minnesota A “Provincial” State
[VIDEO] Tafoya Said That Minnesota Was “Kind Of A Provincial State.” “One of the interesting things about Minnesota, we are kind of a provincial state. And so while the economy is a huge issue nationwide, here in Minnesota it’s very much tied to the F-word: fraud.” [FBN: The Bottom Line, 8/17/26]
¶ Tafoya Said Minnesotans Would Be “The Last People I’m Going To Answer To”
[VIDEO] Tafoya Said “The Last People I’m Going To Answer To Are The Minnesotans Who Send Me There.” “When I think the administration is right, I will say it. When I think they’ve made an error, I will say it. The last people I’m going to answer to are the Minnesotans who send me there.” [Hugh Hewitt Show, 8/20/26]