Republican Michele Tafoya and Democrat Peggy Flanagan participated in their only scheduled debate ahead of Election Day in Minnesota's open U.S. Senate race. The candidates clashed on the war in Iran, the Big Beautiful Bill's effects on Medicaid and SNAP access, and allegations of state government fraud. Recent polls show Flanagan holding a narrow lead within the margin of error.
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The seat held by departing Sen. Tina Smith has drawn only one scheduled debate among the candidates vying to fill it — an arrangement that stands apart from how most open U.S. Senate contests have typically unfolded. Republican candidate Tafoya and Democratic candidate Flanagan met at Minnesota Public Radio's studio on Friday around noon for a wide-ranging conversation that covered topics including President Donald Trump, the situation in Iran, and questions of alleged fraud.
No additional scheduled face-off between the two candidates before voters head to the polls had been arranged beyond that single appearance.
Having previously supported the conflict, Tafoya now calls for its conclusion, while maintaining her position that Iran must be kept from acquiring nuclear weapons and pointing to seven months of fighting as a source of financial pressure felt by residents of Minnesota and across the country. Figures on the cost of goods place them above what many buyers are prepared to pay, and calls for the conflict to be brought to a swift close have grown across multiple quarters. A deliberate conclusion is also part of what Tafoya described as her position.
Flanagan took issue with Tafoya's earlier backing of the conflict, pointing out that the toll extended beyond finances to the loss of 21 military personnel, among them a resident of Minnesota. Parenting, Flanagan noted, occupied a central part of her life. She also contended that the conduct described falls outside what applicable standards permit.
The candidates exchanged views on the effects of the legislation commonly referred to as the Big Beautiful Bill, particularly its provisions reducing access to Medicaid and SNAP benefits for thousands of Minnesota families. Flanagan contended that the bill had harmed residents across the state and that Tafoya had expressed support for it.
Tafoya challenged Flanagan's record in office, contending that nearly eight years as lieutenant governor had yielded no concrete steps to address what she characterised as widespread fraud. Tafoya also raised the question of whether someone whose time in that role overlapped with the alleged loss of state funds was well-placed to present herself as a champion of Medicaid and SNAP access.
Pre-election surveys put both candidates within each other's statistical reach, with neither holding a measurable lead as voting approaches. A KSTP/SurveyUSA poll published that week showed Flanagan with a three-point advantage over Tafoya, at 45% against 42%, though that gap fell within the survey's margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points. Polling conducted jointly by the Minnesota Star Tribune and KARE 11 put Flanagan ahead by four percentage points.