Minnesota’s Nearly $10 Billion Fraud Scandal Could Flip Senate Seat Red

Clear Facts

• Republican Senate candidate Michele Tafoya accuses Gov. Tim Walz and AG Keith Ellison of ignoring nearly $10 billion in daycare, food aid, and health clinic fraud in Minnesota
• House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer found Walz and Ellison were aware of fraud but “repeatedly failed to act”
• Tafoya has raised over $2 million in the race to replace retiring Sen. Tina Smith, leading all Republican candidates in fundraising

A Senate Republican candidate is demanding accountability for what may be the largest welfare fraud scandal in American history — a nearly $10 billion theft that occurred under the watch of Minnesota’s Democratic leadership. Michele Tafoya, 61, running to replace retiring Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., is making the massive fraud scheme a centerpiece of her campaign.

“I think that Tim Walz and Keith Ellison are both to blame for this fraud,” Tafoya said in an interview. “Look, they’re at the top. And as one very revered former United States senator told me, that amount of money cannot change hands without people knowing.”

The widespread theft involved daycare centers, food aid programs, and health clinics across Minnesota. Republicans believe the scandal’s magnitude — and the Democratic leadership’s apparent failure to stop it — could flip a Senate seat red in Minnesota for the first time since 2008.

“So people knew this was going on,” the former sports broadcaster added, demanding someone be held accountable for the widespread fraud. “Fraud is certainly at the forefront” of this election, she said.

Minnesotans are “angry” about the situation, Tafoya insisted, and “ready for a change.”

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., found ahead of a congressional hearing that Walz and Ellison were aware of fraud in the state but “repeatedly failed to act.” Both Democratic officials defended their actions during the hearing, but Tafoya claimed they “laughed it off” during their appearance before the House Oversight Committee in March.

“We have seen it with the Quality ‘Learing’ Center,” Tafoya said, referencing one of the fraudulent operations. “We know that there have been so many mistakes made. And when you are the governor, the buck stops with you.”

Brian Evans, a spokesperson for Ellison, told media that the attorney general’s office has gone after fraud in the state, specifically with the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which has “secured over 340 convictions and regularly ranks as one of the most efficient team of fraud fighters in the nation.”

“Attorney General Ellison is currently leading the charge to pass a bipartisan bill to give his fraud control unit more resources and authority to go after fraudsters and protect our tax dollars,” Evans said. “He has a strong record of fighting fraud and holding fraudsters accountable.”

Tafoya, a former sports reporter seeking elected office for the first time, connected the fraud scandal to broader concerns about election integrity in Minnesota. When asked about a noncitizen recently charged with committing voter fraud and perjury in Minnesota, she said the cases are linked.

“Walz and company want us to believe there’s zero voter fraud,” Tafoya said.

“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” Tafoya added. “I’m certain that’s not the only example. And for them to say that we had perfect elections, when they have just proven that they are willing to lie through their teeth about where our money is going, is laughable.”

The Republican candidate faces a crowded primary before she can advance to the general election in November. Her likely opponents would be Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., or Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, both of whom she claims are trying to “out-left” each other.

Regarding Flanagan specifically, Tafoya said: “She got dressed in a hijab and told Minnesotans, ‘Somalis built Minnesota.’ That was so offensive to everyone in the state.”

“So that gives you an example of how much of a leftist she is.”

Tafoya has the backing of Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who chairs the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Former President Donald Trump has yet to issue an endorsement in the race.

“I’m going to let him speak for himself on any endorsement,” Tafoya said. “We would happily take it. But right now, we are the candidate that has raised the most money by far in the Republican senatorial race in Minnesota, and we think that speaks very highly of our chances.”

Between January and March of this year, Tafoya raised just over $2 million, with just under $1.9 million on hand, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. She holds a cash advantage over Flanagan, who has raised $1.4 million and still has $1.1 million on hand.

Both are surpassed by Craig, who has brought in $2.5 million and has a whopping $4.9 million on hand. Despite Craig’s fundraising advantage, Republicans believe the fraud scandal gives them their best opportunity in years to win a Minnesota Senate seat.

“They are so fed up and disillusioned,” Tafoya said of Minnesota voters.

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