Opinion

MORNING GLORY: Minnesota's massive fraud scandal could deliver a stunning Senate upset

Republican nominee for Senate Michele Tafoya has just sealed her status as 'rookie of the year' in American politics

By Hugh Hewitt Fox News

Published October 20, 2026 5:00am EDT

Comments Facebook Twitter Threads Flipboard Print Email Add Fox News on Google

close

Video

Michele Tafoya: How convenient is this?

Minnesota GOP U.S. Senate candidate Michele Tafoya discusses her opponent Peggy Flanagan and criticizes her political record. Tafoya says Flanagan ‘cannot get a promotion’ and questions the prospect of advancing her political career on ‘Fox News @ Night.’

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

"This historic fraud happened under her watch, and suddenly, she’s looking out for Medicaid and SNAP? Sell it to someone else, Peggy."

With this debate response to Minnesota Democratic Senate nominee Peggy Flanagan’s protestations of concern over access to benefits for the very poor, Republican nominee for Senate Michele Tafoya sealed her status as "rookie of the year" in American politics.

A longtime NFL broadcast professional, Tafoya demonstrated decades of quick on-camera thinking in her debate last week with Flanagan and combined it with a deft slash at Flanagan’s greatest vulnerability: Flanagan’s apprenticeship as lieutenant governor to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz during the tidal wave of fraud that swept across Minnesota after Covid-era "look-the-other-way" policies became a feature, not a bug, in Minnesota’s vast system of "safety net" programs.

‘BUCK’ STOPS AT WALZ: FLANAGAN DUCKS MINNESOTA FRAUD BLAME AS GOP RIVAL EXPOSES GLARING CONTRADICTION

A federal prosecutor estimated the amount of fraud in Minnesota’s spending at as much as $9 billion — that’s a "b" as in "billion." That is a remarkable sum given the Gopher State’s population of fewer than 6 million souls and an annual budget of about $67 billion. To squander an amount equal to close to 15% of a state’s budget on thieves and con artists is........

© Fox News