Michelle Tafoya

For years, Michelle Tafoya was a fixture on the NFL sidelines as an NBC sports reporter.

Now she's jumping into politics, her sights set on flipping a Democratic-held seat in Minnesota.

Tafoya was recruited to run by Senate Republicans as they worked to defend a slim majority.

Tafoya used a launch video to push fraud, immigration, crime, and transgender athlete restrictions as driving issues.

Our campaign is bigger than right versus left.

It's about confidence over corruption.

Tafoya joins an already crowded Republican field vying for the GOP nod.

And Democrats have a spirited race between the lieutenant governor and a swing district congresswoman for that nomination.

For NPR, I'm Katherine Richard in St.

Paul.