US Senate 2026 Election Guide

Contributed

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Glen Stubbe / Provided by Peggy Flanagan

Website: peggyflanagan.com

Party: Democrat

Age on Election Day: 47

Community: St. Louis Park

Employment: Lt. Governor of Minnesota

Please share any prior experience and education that you believe qualifies you for office.

My life taught me what’s possible when people are given a fair shot. Public programs helped us get by, and I’ve spent my career fighting and delivering for Minnesotans so they have the same opportunities I did.

After graduating from the University of Minnesota, I became the youngest person ever elected to the Minneapolis School Board, trained thousands of grassroots organizers through Wellstone Action, led the Children’s Defense Fund-Minnesota, was a member of the Minnesota House, and now serve as Lieutenant Governor. When my daughter was a baby on my hip, I led the fight to raise wages. Then I fought to establish paid family and medical leave, provide free school meals for kids, pass one of the nation’s strongest child tax credits, and lower the cost of insulin. I’m honored to have retiring U.S. Senator Tina Smith’s endorsement, who made the same journey from Lieutenant Governor to Senate.

Why are you running?

I’m running for the U.S. Senate because I want to help Minnesotans afford the lives they want to live.

I grew up raised by a single mom, feeling like the bottom could fall out at any moment. We relied on programs like Section 8 housing, SNAP, childcare assistance, and Medicaid to get by. Too many Minnesotans are doing everything right and still falling behind.

That’s why I will fight to pass Medicare for All and end prior authorization by insurance companies, raise the federal minimum wage, pass universal childcare, ban Wall Street from buying up neighborhoods, give farmers the right to repair their own equipment, and hold ICE accountable and fix our broken immigration system. And we’ve got to take on the special interests who are corrupting our government.

All of these efforts will put money back in Minnesotans’ pockets and get us closer to the future we deserve.

Why should voters elect you?

Right now, too many of our elected officials are beholden to corporations, special interests and the billionaires behind them. I’m the only candidate for U.S. Senate who isn’t taking corporate PAC money because I want Minnesotans to trust I work for them. Big corporations and billionaires already have plenty of representation in Washington. Michele Tafoya is too extreme for Minnesota: she supports Donald Trump’s ICE and mass deportation agenda, defends January 6 rioters who assaulted police officers and tried to overturn a free and fair election, and applauded the Supreme Court decision overturning abortion rights. She also supports Trump’s reckless tariffs, which are hurting farmers and business owners and raising prices for Minnesotans. I’m running to take on corporate greed and Donald Trump, make government work for working people again, and prove that in Washington, politicians should be reflective of the people they represent – not special interests.

Editor’s note: Flanagan’s campaign refers to Tafoya’s remarks about the Jan. 6 pardons on Tafoya’s podcast, including, “There were kind of two kinds of people at this riot: those who were violent with police and those who were just kind of there. And all of them were treated insanely unfairly – not all of them.”

What are your top three priorities, if elected? Please describe specific policy goals.

My top priority is making Congress work for working people instead of corporations, billionaires, and special interests. That starts with banning corporate PAC money, getting dark money out of our elections, overturning Citizens United, and holding the powerful to higher ethical standards so our elected officials reflect the people they represent – not corporations. Second, I’ll fight for Medicare for All because in the richest country on earth health care should be a human right. Until we get there, I’ll fight to lower the cost of all prescription drugs, end insurance company abuses like prior authorization, and restore Medicaid cuts. Third, I’ll be focused on helping Minnesotans afford the their lives by raising the federal minimum wage, making childcare affordable through universal childcare, investing in affordable housing, banning Wall Street from buying up homes and pricing families out, and protecting Social Security and eliminating the tax on benefits.

What immigration policies do you support?

Our immigration system is broken and Donald Trump’s cruel mass deportation agenda isn’t fixing it. We saw what that looks like firsthand during Operation Metro Surge: families torn apart, legal residents and American citizens detained, communities terrorized, children taken, and two Minnesotans killed. We deserve better. We can have a secure border and effective immigration enforcement without sacrificing due process or human dignity. We should modernize our immigration system, invest in border technology and staffing, reduce backlogs, and create a pathway to legal status and citizenship for people who have built their lives, families, and businesses here. We must honor our commitment to refugees and asylum seekers fleeing violence and persecution through a fair and lawful process. Immigration has always been part of Minnesota’s story – immigrants make our communities stronger. We need a system that is humane and rooted in safety, dignity, due process, and the rule of law.

Many Minnesotans are struggling to afford their basic needs. How do you plan to help them?

Too many Minnesotans are working harder than ever but still falling behind because corporations, billionaires, and special interests have too much power over our politics. We have too many politicians on both sides of the aisle who are funded by the same industries driving up the costs of everything. Donald Trump and Republicans have taken funding for health care and food assistance away from working families to pay for tax breaks for billionaires, while spending billions expanding ICE and funding endless wars. I’m fighting for Medicare for All, lower prescription drug costs, universal childcare, raising the federal minimum wage, protecting Social Security, right to repair for farmers, and banning Wall Street from buying up homes and pricing families out because people deserve more than politicians telling them to settle for less. Minnesotans deserve leaders with the courage to take on powerful interests and actually lower the cost of living.

What are your natural resources policy positions?

Minnesota’s land, water and natural resources are central to our economy and way of life. I’ll fight climate change, protect clean water, invest in climate adaptation and support 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040. I’ll invest in wind, solar and green steel to create high-paying union jobs. I also support biofuels and sustainable aviation fuel, which create new markets for Minnesota farmers.

Our farmers are on the front lines of extreme weather and agricultural innovation. I’ll protect their markets from Trump’s reckless tariffs, pass a comprehensive five-year Farm Bill, invest in research and regenerative agriculture, and protect farmers’ right to repair their own equipment.

I’ll protect Minnesota’s water by enforcing environmental standards and holding companies accountable when they pollute. We can protect the land and water future generations depend on while strengthening rural economies and creating good jobs across Minnesota.

What does representative democracy mean to you?

It means elected officials answer to the people – not corporations, billionaires or a president who demands loyalty. Every vote must count, and no one is above the law.

Donald Trump fired 17 inspectors general and removed ethics watchdogs responsible for policing fraud and corruption then used the Oval Office to enrich himself and his family through cryptocurrency schemes and insider trading, and pardoned more than 70 white collar criminals and fraudsters. Michele Tafoya would be another loyal soldier for his agenda. She defends January 6 rioters who assaulted police officers and supports Trump’s ICE and mass deportation agenda that led to two Minnesotans being killed.

I don’t answer to Trump or corporations. I answer to Minnesotans. I’ll restore independent watchdogs, protect free and fair elections, require donor disclosure, ban corporate money in elections, reverse Citizens United, and hold presidents and federal agents accountable when they violate the law.

Contributed

Website: marisasimonetti.com

Party: Independent

Age on Election Day: 33

Community: Plymouth

Employment: CEO

Please share any prior experience and education that you believe qualifies you for office.

Creative problem solver who builds statewide business assets and open-source systems independent of political establishment backing.

Why are you running?

To completely dismantle institutional hypocrisy, protect constitutional rights, and ensure the system works for the people rather than corporate monopolies.

Why should voters elect you?

Because I am the only un-compromised candidate on the ballot who refuses to bow down to party gatekeepers or corporate donors.

What are your top three priorities, if elected? Please describe specific policy goals.

Defending the Bill of Rights against all forms of institutional overreach and modern surveillance.
Closing constitutional loopholes that allow the state to exploit human labor, capital, or data.
Restoring absolute legal transparency by making government frameworks open-source and fully accountable to the people.

What immigration policies do you support?

Policies that prioritize absolute national sovereignty, legal clarity, and strict enforcement of constitutional borders while completely dismantling bureaucratic human trafficking loops and exploitation by corporate interests.

Many Minnesotans are struggling to afford their basic needs. How do you plan to help them?

By breaking up state-sanctioned corporate monopolies that artificially inflate the cost of living, stopping the waste of public capital on performative bureaucracy, and ending the unfree prison labor systems that actively drag down the value of working-class wages.

What are your natural resources policy positions?

Minnesota's natural assets through transparent, decentralized local stewardship and strict constitutional property rights, ensuring our resources serve the real public interest rather than corrupt special-interest carve-outs.

What does representative democracy mean to you?

It means a system where elected figures act strictly as a sovereign shield for the people's rights—not as performative actors who bend the knee to corporate boardrooms, party gatekeepers, and entrenched bureaucratic interests.

Contributed

Editor's note: Tafoya's answers were submitted as part of KAXE's Primary Election Guide. She did not submit updated answers for the general Election Guide, so some responses may reference or be specific to the primary.

Website: micheletafoya.com

Party: Republican

Age on Election Day: 61

Community: I live in Edina.

Employment: Many Minnesotans likely recognize me from my nearly three decades as a sideline reporter in sports broadcasting, where I worked for stations like KFAN as well as networks including CBS, ABC, ESPN, and NBC. Before announcing my candidacy for the U.S. Senate in January, I hosted my own political podcast. Since then, I have been campaigning full time across Minnesota, traveling the state, meeting voters in all 87 counties, and listening to the issues that matter most to them.

Please share any prior experience and education that you believe qualifies you for office.

In my nearly three decades as a sports broadcast journalist, I was lucky to cover some of the biggest sports moments in America, including five Super Bowls and five Olympic Games. Those high-pressure environments–researching and reporting on the most powerful names in professional sports–taught me how to call it like I see it and dig deep for the facts. That same commitment to truth and tough questions is exactly what Minnesota needs in its next U.S. Senator.

I’m not a career politician. I’m an outsider who will challenge the status quo in Washington and fight for families who feel forgotten by the political class. I also earned my MBA from the University of Southern California, which strengthened my ability to analyze complex issues and deliver results.

Minnesotans deserve a Senator with real-world experience, proven integrity, and fresh perspective. I’m ready to bring that to the job.

Why are you running?

I am running for the U.S. Senate to help restore integrity and reclaim Minnesota’s reputation. Our state has become a national punchline for waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars. This is unacceptable. Minnesotans deserve better than the scandals that have damaged their trust. We need elected officials who will deliver real accountability and fiscal responsibility. I will make combating fraud my number one priority in the U.S. Senate.

Additionally, we need a U.S. Senator who will fight for secure borders, safe communities, and policies that put Minnesota families first. Minnesotans are ready for common-sense, principled representation in Washington that puts our state first. I am ready to provide that leadership.

Why should voters elect you?

I’m asking Republican voters to choose me because I’m the proven, electable conservative who will bring some Minnesota common sense to Washington.

Minnesotans know me from years of straight-talking journalism and my deep roots here. I’m a fighter who listens. I’ve traveled more than 14,000 miles (and counting!) across all 87 counties and achieved record-setting fundraising with millions raised from tens of thousands of energized donors. That broad support proves I can unite our party and win in November.

This is our best shot at flipping this open seat. I’m excited to earn your vote, and I’m ready to win this Senate seat and deliver real change for Minnesota families.

What are your top three priorities, if elected? Please describe specific policy goals.

1. Combatting waste, fraud and abuse, because every dollar stolen by fraud is a dollar taken from hardworking Minnesotans who are already struggling with high costs. We must root out fraud, hold enablers accountable, and protect taxpayer money so we can deliver real affordability relief. I will immediately co-sponsor the Deporting Fraudsters Act.
2. Secure our elections so every legal vote counts and Minnesotans can trust the process. I will support the SAVE America Act.
3. Support law enforcement and keep our communities safe. This includes backing bills like the Laken Riley Act to give local agencies the tools they need to detain illegal immigrants.

Editor’s note: The Laken Riley Act was signed into law in January.

What immigration policies do you support?

I will support common-sense immigration policies that put American workers and families first. Our current system has become too confusing and broken for people trying to do things the right way.

I will fight to secure our southern border, enforce our immigration laws, and end catch-and-release. I do not support amnesty. As your Senator, I’ll work to restore order, protect Minnesota communities and resources, and ensure our immigration is fair, lawful, and serves the interests of the people of Minnesota.

Minnesotans deserve safety and sovereignty, and I’m ready to deliver both.

Many Minnesotans are struggling to afford their basic needs. How do you plan to help them?

Affordability is crushing Minnesota families, from groceries to gas to unaffordable housing and energy bills. I will never vote for reckless spending bills like the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act” that drove up costs for working families. Instead, I’ll fight to cut the costly federal regulations that strangle small businesses, discourage hiring, and raise prices on everything.

We must also unleash American energy production to lower energy costs and keep dollars in Minnesota pockets instead of overseas.

As your Senator, I’ll bring the same straight-talking, no nonsense approach I used as a journalist to Washington. Hold the line on spending, reduce government overreach, and put Minnesota families first. You deserve a Senator who fights for lower costs and real relief.

What are your natural resources policy positions?

KAXE did not receive a response to this question.

What does representative democracy mean to you?

KAXE did not receive a response to this question.

Website: whiting4senate.us

Party: Libertarian

Age on Election Day: 45

Community: Bemidji

Employment: Farmer, Owner of Dirty Goat Farm & Bakery

Please share any prior experience and education that you believe qualifies you for office.

US Army veteran, Iraq war combat veteran, board member Bemidji's Natural Choice Farmers Market, Chair of the Libertarian Party of Minnesota, homeschooling mom

Why are you running?

I am running to stop the forever wars and be a voice of the people from a working class perspective to address concerns that are hurting our economic futures like the national debt, inflation, and the destruction of the US dollar.

Why should voters elect you?

They should vote for me because I am not part of the two party (uniparty) club and am running to protect the legacy we pass on down to our children. I am not taking any PAC money, no foreign agency (AIPAC) money, and have been very clear my role is to stop the interventionist policies that keep the war machine funded that has happened regardless of which major party has control. I am pro-human, anti-war. While others are running to prop up the status quo, I believe the political system needs more diverse voices that put peace before corporations and people before policy.

What are your top three priorities, if elected? Please describe specific policy goals.

Anti-war- ending the forever wars, upholding the Constitutional authority to declare war. Passing a national Defend the Guard bill which allows the national guard to only be used in combat if Congress has declared war.
National debt- helping slow down the increase of the national debt and balancing the national budget.
Ending the police state- Against policies that use tax payer dollars to fund data centers, flock cameras, and any other surveillance infrastructure used to monitor and catalog people.

What immigration policies do you support?

Reforming the process to obtain citizenship or legal work authorization making it free and fast.

Many Minnesotans are struggling to afford their basic needs. How do you plan to help them?

By focusing on economic solutions and stopping the destruction of the dollar. We need to stop the regulatory burdens on small producers, the taxes/tarrifs on imported goods, and work towards agriculture independence by supporting regenerative practices, beef producers, and small family farms.

What are your natural resources policy positions?

We should conserve natural resources for future generations and maintaining property rights for sustainable management.

What does representative democracy mean to you?

We should have more diverse voices to dictate the policies and the future of our country. Democracy doesn't restrict who can speak or in what form. The laws in Minnesota to get a third party candidates on the ballot are very difficult to overcome, so one of the goals for this campaign is to break 8% of the state vote so that we can overcome some of those barriers and open the ballot to more options.