Michele Tafoya wins Republican primary for Senate in Minnesota, CBS News projects

Michele Tafoya, a former television sports reporter, is the winner of the Republican nomination for Senate in the Minnesota primary election, CBS News projects.

Tafoya, when she announced her candidacy in January, said Minnesota was “in a crisis.”

“I think we have a crisis in leadership and I think the career politicians that got us here are not going to get us out,” Tafoya said.

Her campaign website highlights stopping fraud, supporting law enforcement, cutting “costs and taxes” for the middle class and bringing back “courage and common sense.”

A Republican has not been elected to the U.S. Senate from Minnesota since Norm Coleman in 2002.

Tafoya defeated a large field that included Adam Schwarze, a former Navy SEAL and Marine, who was endorsed by the Republican Party of Minnesota at its state convention in Duluth in May.

See full results for the Minnesota primary on WCCO’s results page.