Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota accused President Donald Trump of laying the groundwork to challenge the result of her state’s Senate race after he warned on Monday that “the Federal Government will be watching closely” as Minnesotans vote.
“He’s blatantly laying the groundwork to steal an election if his chosen candidate doesn’t win,” Smith, a Democrat who is retiring, wrote on X, “Minnesota will not take kindly to thinly veiled threats from a guy we’ve rejected three times (soon to be four).”
The exchange comes a week before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, which will decide control of Congress.
Trump’s post on the Tina Smith seat
Smith was responding to a Truth Social post Trump published on Monday, Oct. 26, backing Republican Michele Tafoya, a former NFL broadcaster, for Smith’s open seat.
“Don’t allow them to play with the Votes after the race is over,” Trump wrote. “The only way she can lose is if they cheat by playing games with the Ballots as they come in.”
In the same post, Trump said, “I won Minnesota three times, but they didn’t give me the Victories.” Official results show he lost the state in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 presidential elections, and he offered no evidence for his claim, IBTimes reported.
A tightening Minnesota Senate race
Tafoya faces Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. Flanagan leads by an average of 3.5 percentage points, according to RealClearPolling. The Cook Political Report moved the race from “Likely Democrat” to “Lean Democrat” on Oct. 20.
Tafoya has tried to set herself apart from her party on some issues. In one ad, she calls herself a “pro-choice Republican” who is “not afraid to stand up to my party.” Flanagan’s campaign has argued that Tafoya would be “another senator for Trump.”
When Trump first endorsed her earlier this month, Tafoya said, “The ultimate endorsement will come for me on November 3rd from the state of Minnesota,” FOX 9 reported. Flanagan’s spokesperson, Lexi Byler, responded at the time: “Trump has lost Minnesota three times, and Michele Tafoya is about to be number four.”
No Republican has won a Senate race in Minnesota since Norm Coleman in 2002.
Smith was appointed in 2018 to fill the seat left by Al Franken and is not seeking another term. Early voting is already underway, and polls close on Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. local time.
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