Minnesota Republican Senate candidate Michele Tafoya is hammering Lieutenant Gov. Peggy Flanagan over alleged welfare fraud in the state, turning accountability into a central issue as their November contest remains exceptionally close.

Tafoya, a former NFL reporter, won a crowded Republican primary last month.

She is now challenging Flanagan for Minnesota’s vacant Senate seat, with the latest Real Clear Politics poll showing the Democrat ahead by only 1.8 points.

During an appearance on Fox News Sunday, Tafoya urged Minnesota voters to “not give [Flanagan] a promotion” after the alleged fraud that occurred during Flanagan’s tenure.

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Tafoya offered a much different recommendation for the lieutenant governor.

“She really needs a pink slip,” Tafoya said.

The Republican candidate focused particular attention on questions surrounding billions of dollars that left Minnesota.

Tafoya raised concerns about where the money went and how it was allowed to exit the state while Flanagan served as lieutenant governor.

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The latest alleged fraud occurred in Hennepin County, where Minneapolis is located.

About $2 million reportedly was designated for businesses affected by ICE raids, but businesses received only one quarter of the available money.

The state received 300 legitimate applications for that fund, according to the report.

Another 200 applications were flagged for potential fraud, adding another troubling episode to Tafoya’s argument that Minnesota officials have failed to impose consequences.

“They know they have a place here in Minnesota where they can commit this fraud,” Tafoya said.

“Because no one has been held accountable. It’s remarkable.”

Tafoya argued that the only accountability stemming from Minnesota’s fraud problems came when Governor Tim Walz decided against seeking a third term.

She is using the issue to press voters for a broader political cleanup beginning with the Senate race.

“We’ve got a clean house, and it’s going to start with the top of the ticket, and that’s the US Senate, where people are,” Tafoya said.

“We’re now in a toss-up race here in Minnesota. We’ve been trending in the right direction, and that is good news for all of us and for the US Senate.”

Tafoya also hopes to gain support from voters without college degrees, a group that favors Republicans over Democrats by 16 percentage points.

She called those voters the “heart of the Trump coalition” as her campaign looks for the turnout needed to overcome Flanagan’s narrow polling advantage.

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Political consultant Kellyanne Conway said those voters are dealing with economic concerns that could shape whether they participate.

The challenge, according to Conway, is less about which candidate they prefer and more about whether they decide to cast a ballot.

“They are feeling some economic grievance and uncertainty and pressure,” Conway said.

“For them, the question is not for whom to vote; it’s whether they’re going to bother at all.”

Tafoya maintained that the choice between her campaign and Flanagan’s “could not be clearer.”

She portrayed the contest as a stark decision between what she calls common sense and the policies represented by her Democratic opponent.

“It’s common sense versus crazy or chaos or communism or whatever kind of alliteration you want to use,” Tafoya said.

“We are a common sense campaign that is looking to restore what Minnesota loves, which is the value of the dollar, not being stolen from, not having our leaders be untrustworthy.”

Minnesota voters have not elected a Republican to represent the state in the Senate since 2002.

Tafoya nevertheless believes the North Star State is strongly “purple,” and she points to the tight polling and favorable movement in the race as reasons for Republican optimism.

The general election will take place in November, when Tafoya and Flanagan face each other for the vacant Senate seat.

With Flanagan holding a 1.8-point edge in the latest Real Clear Politics poll, the fight is positioned as a genuine toss-up rather than another easy Democratic walk.

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