Minnesota’s open U.S. Senate race will lead the 2026 ballot and a competitive contest is underway. With so much focus on the Governor race, many Minnesotans are unaware of incumbent leftist Democrat Tina Smith not seeking reelection. In fact, most Minnesotans would have zero clue who she is if her name was mentioned despite being the former Lt. Governor! Smith has flown under the radar by sticking with the pack and voting however the Establishment Democrats tell her to.

With Tina Smith’s absence in the race, it becomes more winnable for Republicans. The Democrat nominee will likely have less money and connections than Smith which the MNGOP may be able to capitalize on. Democrats have three candidates including fake moderate Angie Craig, fake Somalian Peggy Flanagan, and outsider Billy Nord. Independent Marisa “Tarantula” Simonetti has also filed to run.

The GOP has ten candidates running for the U.S. Senate. Those interested in a breakdown of Governor candidates can see it here. See information on each of the candidates below:

Royce White

Photo credit: Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune

Royce White was the 2024 GOP nominee for U.S. Senate against Shaky Amy Klobuchar and outperformed all preceding Republican opponents to Klobuchar. White captured the MNGOP endorsement at the 2024 State Convention and again defeated his main opponent, He/Him banker Joe Frasier, and six other candidates in the primary. Due to being primaried by the Establishment in the 2024 election and his distrust with MNGOP Chair Alex Plechash running the convention fairly, White is refusing to abide by the party endorsement. According to his campaign website, White is endorsed by America First thought leaders like Alex Jones, Steve Bannon, Mike Lindell, Kari Lake, and Matt Gaetz. White has a speaking style and charisma that cannot be taught and as a former NBA player with a brash, hardcore style, he is able to appeal to MN conservatives and broader audiences. Some on the right critique White’s use of profanity on social media or hold campaign finance mistakes over his head but Royce appears unfazed.

Royce White has been the most active of the candidates in creating differentiation between them and has called for debates against the candidates. White has slammed GOP opponents across the board, including calling Adam Schwarze a NeoCon for being a listed endorser of and donor to Nikki Haley’s 2024 Presidential campaign, calling out Michele Tafoya for her anti-Trump/pro-abortion record and for the party propping her up pre-endorsement, slamming David Hann for secretly paying a Kamala supporter with MNGOP money as Chair, and attacking Tom Weiler for his defense contract work. White is the only major GOP candidate who distinctly tells voters that he is America First, not Israel First or any other Globalist ideology. White’s critiques of Israel/AIPAC and the U.S. politicians beholden to them will distinguish him from the large pack of candidates, as most will follow standard Establishment thinking on the issue. Royce White remains a top-tier candidate who challenges the status quo. 

Adam Schwarze

Adam Schwarze is a ten-year infantry Marine and an eleven-year Navy Seal veteran who likely has done the most on-the-ground events this campaign season out of all the GOP candidates, building in-roads with delegates. During his military service, Schwarze disobeyed tyrannical Covid quarantine orders in Hawaii (where he was stationed and did not have Covid) and had to fight to clear his name with the military. The most common reason conservatives cite as their reason to not support Schwarze has been his name appearing on a Nikki Haley press release stating that he was the CD5 co-chair for her MN campaign against President Trump in the 2024 primary. Schwarze previously appeared on The Truth Hurts show to discuss this where he explained that he did not follow the race, the debates, or Haley's candidacy but his girlfriend’s family supported Nikki and he didn't realize his name being listed would appear as an endorsement. The explanation was whole but some conservatives do not want to support someone who was ever able to support Nikki Haley, despite the fact that Schwarze has said it was a mistake.

Schwarze has since aligned himself with President Trump and has appealed to many grassroots conservatives with the argument that a Navy Seal is a smart electoral choice. In 2022, Schwarze initially ran for Congress against Dean Phillips in CD3 but was unable to do so due to a military paperwork error that was not an issue of his own making. Schwarze has charted a course that does not involve attacking the other GOP candidates and is focused on the general election. Schwarze has been endorsed by Montana U.S. Senator Tim Sheehy and Congressman John McGuire (VA-5). Schwarze remains one of two GOP U.S. Senate candidates (himself and Mark York) publicly pledging to abide by the party endorsement.

Michele Tafoya

Photo credit: Don Wright/AP

Michele Tafoya is a well-known name due to her professional career as a NFL sideline reporter. As seen in previous A4L reporting, Tafoya is out of step with MN conservatives due to her anti-Trump and pro-abortion political positions. Supporters of Tafoya argue she is the most electable candidate, though they are forgetting that she will need the votes of nearly all of the over 1.5M Trump voters in MN in order to win. Tafoya’s longtime opposition to President Trump and her support of taxpayer funded abortion will cause many MAGA and Pro-Life voters to not show up to vote in the general election. Tafoya seemingly believes Joe Biden was legitimately elected by calling the 2020 Stop The Steal effort “election-denialism”. Tafoya has said that she leans left on social issues and wrote an open letter to Trump in 2022 demanding he not run for President again in 2024, even calling Trump “chaos” , not sane, and implying that he doesn't genuinely love America. During the 2024 GOP Presidential debates, Tafoya sang the praises of Neo-Con Nikki Haley for her uninformed, hawkish takes on the Ukraine/Russia War. Tafoya initially endorsed Ron DeSanctimonious for President but later posted an article on social media demanding Nikki Haley stay in the race and be more aggressive in attacking Trump. Tafoya has been endorsed by the NRSC and RINO U.S. Senator Tim Scott, highlighting that the D.C. Swamp thinks she'd fit in.

Before running, Michele Tafoya ran a YouTube podcast where she had been interviewing GOP candidates for Governor, which likely has built her some good–will with the candidates and their supporters. Tafoya was the co-chair of Kendall Qualls’ 2022 gubernatorial campaign and many suspected she would be named as his Lt. Gov. due to Qualls refusing to name his running mate throughout the nine rounds of voting at the convention, including when Gov. candidate Mike Murphy alleged Qualls offered him to be the running mate but retracted it. Qualls likely feared that Tafoya would drag the ticket down for delegates due to her known anti-Trump and pro-abortion positions in contrast with Scott Jensen’s running mate of Pro-Life former NFL player Matt Birk. Tafoya will still face major opposition despite the MNGOP violating Article IV, Section 8 of their own Bylaws to promote and prop up Tafoya’s candidacy. The MNGOP putting their thumb on the scale for the Establishment is nothing new, Alex Plechash has done this before and has given the Grassroots a reason to be skeptical of Tafoya. Tafoya does not appear to have made no public comment on abiding by the party endorsement.

David Hann

Corrupt David Hann is the former MNGOP Chair who destroyed the party and is desperate for relevancy. As Chair, David Hann: 1. Secretly paid a Kamala/Walz supporter tens of thousands of dollars in party funds, 2. Disenfranchised hundreds of duly-elected Otter Tail delegates, 3. Shredded party documents/wiped MNGOP computer servers Hillary Clinton-style after losing the Chairmanship, 4. Sent a letter to GOP candidates demanding that they say abortion up to the moment of birth is a Constitutional Right in MN, 5. Kept the party buried in debt until President Trump bailed them out, 6. Played nice with radical Democrat Ken Martin (treating political opposition like an ally), 7. Cut off data access to endorsed GOP legislative candidates, and 8. Used lie-ridden attacks against A4L and grassroots conservatives.

Hann is a major opponent to President Trump and the MAGA agenda that he is desperate to hide away. Hann said the GOP was not the party of Trump in 2017 and 2021, called Trump “vulgar, rude, and obnoxious”, said he was “not a Trump guy”, and did not want President Trump to visit MN in 2022 to help the GOP win. During the 2024 Presidential election, Hann & the MNGOP promoted a Nikki Haley event and never publicly informed delegates of a grassroots resolution passed at the State Central condemning the politically motivated indictments against President Trump. As seen in previous A4L reporting, David Hann was originally considering a run for Governor and seems to have chosen the U.S. Senate race as a consolation prize. In the end, Hann will be no threat for the GOP endorsement or in the primary. Due to his bitter fall-out with the party, it is not clear if he will abide by the party endorsement or not. Incumbent RINO legislators endorsing David Hann include Sen. Gary Dahms (SD15), Sen. Paul Utke (SD5), Sen. Jim Abeler (SD35), Sen. Andrew Lang (SD16), Sen. Rich Draheim (SD22), and Rep. Duane Quam (24A). Hann is also an Army veteran. More can be learned about David Hann at DavidHann.com.

Tom Weiler

Tom Weiler is a twenty-year Navy veteran and was the 2022 GOP nominee in CD3 against Democrat Dean Phillips. In that campaign, Weiler was endorsed by Neo-Con Dan Crenshaw (Eye-Patch McCain) and sources tell A4L that Weiler supported using the previously mentioned military paperwork error to force Adam Schwarze out of the CD3 race. Since that race, Weiler had been doing defense contractor work with the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) and the Office of Naval Research (ONR). As seen in a screenshot on social media, Weiler’s LinkedIn page appears to have originally said he lived in Maryland, making some question if he is carpetbagging. This in mind, Weiler does have lifelong connections to Minnesota according to his campaign website bio. Weiler has not managed to gain serious traction in the U.S. Senate campaign thus far but as someone who has won an endorsing convention and was the GOP nominee for a U.S. Congressional seat, he should not be fully counted out yet. Weiler has refused to pledge to abide by the 2026 U.S. Senate party endorsement.

Christopher Brooks

Christopher Brooks is a thirteen-year Army veteran who does not appear to have run for public office before. He calls himself a political outsider who opposes career politicians. His campaign website promotes him as a Constitutional conservative that believes the Government’s purpose is to defend our freedoms, secure the border, enforce the law, and create an environment where hard work is rewarded. Brooks’ website also lists out some of his campaign priorities which are generally conservative but lack substance and clarity. At a recent Tea Party event, Brooks said the reason he felt compelled to step forward and run was due to the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Brooks lacks name recognition, big money, and a large campaign apparatus, making him a major underdog in this race. 

Alycia Gruenhagen

Alycia Gruenhagen is the daughter of GOP State Senator Glenn Gruenhagen and she has run for office three times, including twice as a Democrat. Alycia ran for U.S. Congress in CD7 as a Democrat in 2020 and 2022. In 2022, she received over 40% of the vote in the Democratic primary. In 2024, Gruenhagen suddenly changed and became a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate where she went on to get 7.7%/4th place in an eight-way primary. Gruenhagen explains her becoming a Republican broadly on her campaign website by saying that she had planned on running as an Independent but felt more drawn to conservatives in meeting people. She had reportedly called herself a conservative Democrat previously and was labeled a “MAGA Republican” during the 2022 campaign by a former news reporter.  Her father has never publicly endorsed Alycia’s political runs and it is not clear if he supported the runs or not. Gruenhagen does not have serious name recognition, a big campaign apparatus, and is considered to be a screwball by many conservative activists. Interestingly, Alycia was a volunteer at Royce White’s State Fair booth despite being a political opponent.

Raymond Petersen

Ray Petersen is a Navy veteran, an engineer (in military service and privately), and a retired truck driver who ran for U.S. Senate in 2024 and received 8.4%/3rd place in an eight-way GOP primary, falling short of only Royce White and He/Him Joe Frasier. Petersen had never run for office before and likely benefitted from the public falsely recognizing his name with some other politician that has a similar name. Petersen still remain generally a political unknown but does express strong, conservative principles on his campaign website including his opposition to warrantless surveillance of Americans, shrinking the government down to its Constitutional purposes, and says each decision he would make as U.S. Senator will be based on protecting the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Petersen also says he has not been very politically active and would not vote in many elections but now realizes the importance of each vote in each election. Petersen is clearly a pro-grassroots candidate but lacks the name recognition, money, and serious campaign apparatus to be a real threat in this field.

Mike Ruoho

Mike Ruoho is a business owner with experience running restaurants and job-related training services according to his campaign website bio. Ruoho appears to be all over the map politically by championing new-found pro-Trump rhetoric on certain issues despite being a Trump hater/Liz Cheney lover who even ran a pretend campaign for President in 2024 against Trump! While conservatives will likely agree with Ruoho on securing the border, eliminating regulations, cutting taxes, cutting spending, and other issues, Ruoho will have a tough time selling Republicans on his platform including that he is pro-abortion and supports gun control. Mike Ruoho lacks name recognition, big money, and a serious campaign apparatus and will likely be a non-factor for the endorsement and primary.

Mark York

Mark York is a seventh-generation farmer who received Masters and Ph.D. degrees in computer science from Harvard University. York’s family has farmed in Lake Wilson, MN since 1930 and began his career as a commodity trader and data scientist as seen in his campaign website bio section. York is the President and co-founder of Farm Yield Africa which provides tractor services to about 1,500 farmers in Ghana. Mark York clearly has an impressive resume but conservatives will be hesitant to support his candidacy after learning that Joe Biden appointed York as a White House Fellow for the Dept. of Defense Office of Strategic Capital (though it was a nonpartisan role). York says on his website that he also served in President Trump’s National Energy Dominance Council following his previous role but the fellowship expired and York returned to Minnesota. York’s "Priorities" section on his campaign website is limited, unspecific, milque-toast, boring, and the messaging seems geared for a general election as opposed to a GOP contest. As seen at a recent Tea Party event, former MNGOP Exec. Director Jennifer DeJournett introduced York and is supporting his campaign. York is clearly an intelligent, presentable candidate but as a new face, it remains to be seen how strong of a campaign he will be able to put together. A source also tells A4L that Mark York will abide by the MNGOP endorsement for this race.

Conclusion

Action 4 Liberty will continue to keep Patriots informed with hard-hitting, truth-exposing, anti-establishment, pro-liberty reporting and breakdowns. The U.S. Senate race will surely be closely watched due to the potential for it becoming a toss-up. A4L will continue to be the megaphone of grassroots conservatives in Minnesota by protecting liberty for the next generation!