There seems to be an official countdown clock for everything these days, whether it's Christmas (fewer than 100 days, as of Sept. 17), some random event the people at CNN are excited about, or even the next election.

Well, today, I learned there is one specially made for the midterm election and on Thursday, this nifty clock shows just 47 days and counting.

That is not much time, folks.

 For about the past week, we have been watching something happen that is not supposed to happen. At least, not usually. In a state dominated by Democrats, Lieutentant Governor Peggy Flanagan should be a shoo-in for the U.S. Senate seat, right?

The polling seems to show that isn't the case for November 2026, with the Dem running neck-and-neck with the Republican candidate, Michele Tafoya. 

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In an update column late Wednesday, my colleague at sister site Hot Air, Ed Morrissey, surmised that while optimism has its merits, there is reason to be cautious about MN, which has not elected a Republican in any position statewide since 2006 (remember Gov. Tim Pawlenty). Ed had more thoughts:

Michele Tafoya's nomination for the Senate put the state elections on the national map, and the DFL's nomination of the more radical Peggy Flanagan as her opponent at least gave an opportunity to make things ... interesting.

But did they make the election this interesting? The most recent Co/efficient poll shows the Minnesota Senate race a dead heat, with the DFL nominee flying at a very low level indeed for what appeared to be a safe blue state in 2026 [with Flanagan at 43 percent, Tafoya at 42 percent, and Other hanging in at 4 percent].

RealClear Politics' average and TIPP polling, Ed also wrote, are even showing it's anyone race.

On the other hand ... the RCP aggregation in the Senate race hints at a competitive election ahead. Flanagan leads in all four other polls, but within the MoE, and Flanagan has yet to hit 50% in any of them. The TIPP poll had the largest sample (1,201 LVs) and also came up with a virtual dead heat at 44/42. At the very least, Flanagan hasn't closed the deal with voters yet...

No, she hasn't. And if you swing over to Townhall, Amy Curtis has even more reasons that Minnesotans should steer clear.

Lt. Gov. Flanagan admitted that she convened with violent lefty protesters, and doubled down on that fact when asked about it. She also cheered about then-President Joe Biden commuting the prison sentence of a man who killed two federal agents. Did I mention Flanagan is anti-law enforcement? Yeah.

Tafoya, though, is punching through whatever noise the legacy media might be broadcasting to drown out her hopeful message about a course correction for Minnesota. She makes a strong case on ditching the very Democrats who enabled or aided the fraud catastrophe in her home state. 

RedState's Sister Toldjah shared in August that Flanagan has tried her best to grow a Grand Canyon-sized hole between herself and Democrat Gov. Tim Walz, but Tafoya would not let that illusion stand in a recent interview. The politician has been in office for eight years.

Minnesotans are looking for a U.S. senator who will protect taxpayer dollars, not someone who stood by as billions in fraud happened on her watch.

Peggy Flanagan saw the warning signs, yet failed to act.

She does not deserve a promotion to the U.S. Senate. She deserves a pink slip.

"What have we seen? Massive fraud, she's been Tim Walz's right hand throughout this fraud, this scandal. It's upwards of $9 billion," Tafoya said.

"We've seen declining test scores among our students, we've seen an increase in crime, and increase in taxes," she continued, saying that Flanagan stood against common sense, affordability measures like ending taxes on tips and overtime found in President Trump's the One Big Beautiful Bill.

"I don't think this is what Minnesotans want. Here in Minnesota, this is a change election," she said. 

In case you missed it, some of the love from Minnesotans for Michele Tafoya shone through over the summer with a musical endorsement from Five For Fighting (friend of RedState, Jon Ondrasik).

Tafoya keeps calling out her opponent for her part in the fraudsters' trashing the state.

"Peggy Flanagan is hiding from the fraud. She let it happen," she said in a recent X clip. "Minnesotans have noticed. That's why this race is a statistical tie."

Tafoya boasted about her exhaustive campaign trek across the state of MN, and shared what people are telling her: "I've been in every corner of this state, and I keep hearing the same thing: people are done making excuses for their leaders. We have the chance to change that."

Tafoya urged voters to not wait to let the Left hear their voices, and send corrupt Dems like Flanagan packing as early voting approaches. 

Oh, yeah, there's one more deadline in just a few hours.

"In-person and mail-in absentee voting starts THIS FRIDAY," she wrote in the X post, while including the SoS's office page for people to learn more about their options.

One of my friends who lives in MN and campaigned for Bobby Kennedy Jr. during 2024 told me last week Tafoya has earned his trust. Could a Republican really win in Minnesota? Stay tuned!

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