The attacks suggest the Trump administration’s immigration raids, and the pushback they’ve received on the Left, will continue to define a state that has been thrust into the national spotlight after an ICE officer fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis.

But Tafoya is also making a traditional case for Republicans looking to make inroads in a blue state, arguing she would be an “outsider” who disrupts years of failed leadership. She described Minnesota’s stagnating test scores and the incidence of violent crime as an indictment of city and statewide officials.

“It’s been growing and building and building and building,” Tafoya told the Washington Examiner ahead of her launch. “And as a resident here for over 30 years, I love this state, and I feel as though this crisis is an opportunity for us to say, ‘You know what, we can help.’”

MICHELE TAFOYA’S PAST TRUMP CRITICISM RESURFACES AS MINNESOTA SENATE RACE TAKES SHAPE

Tafoya’s entry into the race is a recruiting victory for Senate GOP leaders, who hosted her in Washington for a series of meetings in December.

She must first compete against a crowded Republican field of challengers, each vying for the seat of retiring Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN), and could face backlash in the primary for her past criticism of President Donald Trump.

But Tafoya also has a candidate profile that could help the GOP compete for the broader electorate in Minnesota, which has not elected a Republican to the Senate since 2002.

She’s broken with her party on select issues, particularly abortion access, and framed her relatively new career in politics as something that would differentiate her from the two Democrats competing for their party’s nomination: Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN).

“Look, I’m ready to take on either one of them. They represent the political elite. They represent the career politicians that have got us to the point that we’re at,” Tafoya said.

“Everyone can look at their records and decide, is that what they want to live with? Do they want the same old thing on the ballot, or do they want something new, someone who can lead, someone who can fight for all Minnesotans across the political spectrum?” she added. “So, I like my chances.”

In the interview, Tafoya touched on many of the issues that will define the midterm election, naming lower energy costs, more affordable healthcare, and a lighter tax burden for Minnesotans as priorities if she’s elected in November.

Still, the unrest in Minneapolis is hanging over her announcement and dominated her critique of Democrats. She called Minnesota “Exhibit A” for reports of widespread fraud that have implicated members of the Somali community, claiming that Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey were fanning the “flames of agitation and sort of set this permission structure” for confrontation with ICE on the streets.

“This isn’t about right vs. left, it’s about right vs. wrong,” Tafoya said. “I choose sanity. We’ve got to decide between the common sense that built this country or settle for the corruption and the craziness that could tear us apart.”

Democrats see the political environment very differently and believe that Trump has stoked the days of dangerous altercations in Minneapolis, pointing to his decision to send in hundreds of ICE agents over the fraud allegations.

And though Republicans continue to accuse Democrats of mismanaging the scandal, which centers on billions stolen from federal programs, the fatal shooting of Renee Good has morphed the news cycle into a debate over police use of force and whether ICE tactics have gone too far.

Tafoya paused to call the death of Good a tragedy – “I feel for her family and her loved ones deeply” – but she, like other Republicans, sided with the Trump administration, painting Good as the victim of a Democratic establishment that encouraged protesters to get in the way of law enforcement.

Tafoya acknowledged that she’s been critical of Trump in the past, at one point penning a 2022 Substack that urged him not to run again for president, but said that today, she agrees with a “lot of the results and the goals that he is shooting for.”

“I’m glad I was wrong,” Tafoya said, putting herself in the camp of Republicans whose views of Trump have “evolved.” She has not spoken with the president directly, she added, but made clear that she wants his support in the Senate race.

“An endorsement from the president of the United States would be more than welcome,” she said.

THOM TILLIS APPEALS TO TRUMP ‘LEGACY’ WITH GROWING WHITE HOUSE CRITICISM

For now, Tafoya said her focus would be on courting primary voters and GOP officials in the state. She will face a Republican field that includes former NBA player Royce White, who lost to Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) in 2024; ex-Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze; and Tom Weiler, a retired Navy veteran and 2022 House candidate.

“That means I first have to get the endorsement of every voter I can reach,” Tafoya said. “The president is on his own timeline, and if he decides to endorse me, I would be honored.”