# Minnesota Senate race 2026

Open Democratic seat. Michele Tafoya (R) faces Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (D) to replace retiring Sen. Tina Smith.

- Office: U.S. Senate
- Rating: Lean Democrat (Cook Political Report, Oct 20, 2026)
- Sabato's Crystal Ball: Leans Democratic
- Election Day: Tuesday, November 3, 2026
- Canonical page: https://rightnewsrightnow.com/election/mn-senate/
- Back to [Election Headquarters](https://rightnewsrightnow.com/election/)

## Who is running

- Michele Tafoya (Republican): open seat
- Peggy Flanagan (Democrat): open seat

## The facts

- Cook moved Minnesota from Likely Democratic to Leans Democratic in a recent update. (The Hill, via Yahoo News)
- Smith is retiring. (Wikipedia)

## Why this race matters to conservatives (opinion)

A second Democratic seat where Republicans have an opening.

This section is the opinion of RightNewsRightNow. The rest of the page is reporting.

## Where these facts come from

- [Cook Political Report](https://www.270towin.com/2026-senate-election/cook-political-report-2026-senate): current rating, as of Oct 20, 2026
- [Wikipedia (election pages, with their cited sources)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_Senate_elections): candidate and race facts