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2026 candidate · follow the money

Who funds Michele Tafoya?

Minnesota U.S. SenateRepublicanFiled for an open seatFEC S6MN00556
Compare the whole race →Results in Minnesota ↗Search Hugin records ↗FEC filing ↗

The money.

Michele TafoyaFEC filing: Michele Tafoya · S6MN00556 ↗
Raised
$11M
Spent
$9.7M
Cash on hand
$2.8M
Debts
$442K
  • Individuals 96% $11M
  • PACs & other committees 3% $334K
  • Party committees 0.5% $62K
  • Candidate's own money & loans <0.1% $7,878
  • Other receipts <0.1% $3,895

Campaign totals through Oct 14, 2026. Excludes $1.0M moved between the candidate's own committees.

Outside groups: $20K supporting · $444K opposing

Biggest spenders supporting

  1. MINNESOTA FORWARDSuper PACAll of its general-election spending helped Republicans or opposed Democrats $20K

Biggest spenders opposing

  1. SHEEPDOG PACHybrid PAC (super PAC account)Spent mainly in primaries $444K

Largest direct PAC contributions

  1. NRSCRepublican party committee $62K
  2. REPUBLICAN MAJORITY FUNDLeadership PAC of Thomas Cotton $10K
  3. SCHWAN'S COMPANY POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEECorporate PAC · Schwan'S Company $10K
  4. FREEDOM FUNDLeadership PAC of Michael D Crapo $10K
  5. DIRIGO PACLeadership PAC of Susan M. Collins $10K

Who gave.

Who gives $11M from individuals

47% in small-dollar gifts

$5.3M of $11M came unitemized: from donors whose gifts to the campaign this cycle total $200 or less, whom the campaign does not have to name.

The itemized gifts below add up to $2.2M of the $5.8M the campaign reported itemizing through Oct 14, 2026. The FEC has not yet processed the rest into its bulk file, which runs to Jul 22, 2026 for this campaign.

54% from Minnesota · 46% from elsewhere

Of itemized gifts, by the state on each donor's mailing address. Giving from other states is lawful and common.

53% of itemized dollars came earmarked through a conduit such as ActBlue or WinRed; each gift is counted once.

Top states

  1. Minnesota $1.2M
  2. Florida $171K
  3. California $149K
  4. Texas $95K
  5. Washington $53K
  6. Arizona $42K
  7. Illinois $35K
  8. Colorado $32K

Top employers named by donors

  1. WELLS FARGO $1,620

Employers as donors wrote them on the form. A company listed here did not give this money; people who work there did.

Retired, self-employed, not employed or not given: $1.5M. Employers named by fewer than three donors, or filed as a person's name: $682K, not listed so no one donor is singled out.

Summary through Oct 14, 2026. Itemized gifts dated Jan 21, 2026 to Jul 22, 2026, net of refunds (12,575 entries). Every itemized contribution on FEC.gov ↗

From the principal campaign committee's FEC reports; joint-fundraising transfers and later reports are not included, and no donor is named here. A contribution is not evidence of a vote, favor or wrongdoing.

Outside money in the final weeks.

Outside spending including late reports: $45K for / $1.1M against · $632K in the final two weeks

That is $729K more than the $464K in regular reports alone. Source: FEC regular reports plus 24- and 48-hour reports they do not yet cover. The final two weeks run Oct 21, 2026 to Nov 3, 2026, by the date each ad or mailing went out.

$231K of the $1.2M on late reports was filed as an estimate. A 24- or 48-hour report is due within a day or two of the spending; the spender's later regular report carries the final cost.

What it bought, per the late reports

  • TV, radio & streaming TV 2% $22K
  • Digital ads 24% $290K
  • Ads, medium not stated 38% $458K
  • Mail, print & signs 24% $285K
  • Phones & texts 11% $130K
  • Canvassing & field 0.4% $4,328
  • Ad production 0.3% $3,000

Largest late spenders for

  1. THE CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DBA AMERICANS FOR CONSTITUTIONAL LIBERTY $25K
  2. MINNESOTA FORWARD $20K

Largest late spenders against

  1. SHEEPDOG PAC $444K
  2. OUR HERITAGE MATTERS $367K
  3. THE EDGE ACTION FUND $175K
  4. WORKING AMERICA $101K
  5. BUILDING TOGETHER $50K

Latest dissemination on these reports: November 3, 2026. FEC 24- and 48-hour independent-expenditure reports read November 4, 2026, with amended and re-filed reports counted once (59 entries). These reports on FEC.gov ↗

Outside spending is, by law, made without coordinating with the candidate and is not the candidate's money. Purposes are grouped from each spender's own description, so the groups are approximate. A dollar figure is not evidence of a vote, favor or wrongdoing.

Where it went.

Where the money went $3.9M in itemized spending

These itemized payments cover $3.9M of the $9.7M the campaign reported spending through Oct 14, 2026. The FEC has not yet itemized the rest in its bulk file, which runs to Jul 22, 2026.

  • Advertising & outreach 88% $3.4M
  • Consultants & strategy 2% $85K
  • Staff & payroll 0.5% $21K
  • Fundraising & processing fees 5% $189K
  • Polling, research & data 1% $42K
  • Travel, meals & events 2% $62K
  • Office, technology & overhead 0.6% $23K
  • Legal & compliance 0.6% $22K
  • Other or unclassified 0.3% $11K

Largest payees

  1. TARGETED VICTORY LLC $1.9M
  2. MDI IMAGING AND MAIL $562K
  3. GEN2 SOLUTIONS LLC $315K
  4. FP1 STRATEGIES LLC $124K
  5. WINRED TECHNICAL SERVICES LLC $110K

Paid to individuals: $89K, such as staff, contractors and reimbursements. People who were paid are not named here.

Payments dated Jan 21, 2026 to Jul 22, 2026, as itemized by the principal campaign committee in FEC reports (572 entries). Every payment on FEC.gov ↗

Grouped by each campaign's own description of the payment, so the groups are approximate. Payments of $200 or less to one payee need not be itemized, detail filed only as memo entries counts under other or unclassified, and spending by the candidate's other committees or by outside groups is not included. A payment is not evidence of a favor or wrongdoing.

Others who filed for this seat.

Questions worth asking.

Money shows who backed a campaign, not how a person will act. Compare it with what they did and said: their votes or official actions if they have held office, their own statements, and their answers to a finding. Use the same questions for every candidate.

FEC bulk data read November 4, 2026. Campaign totals come from each filing's own FEC summary through its latest processed report. Outside spending is independent expenditures itemized in committee reports in the FEC bulk files, primaries included; late 24- and 48-hour reports, party coordinated spending, communication costs and groups that do not report to the FEC are not included. Outside spending is, by law, made without coordinating with the candidate, and it is not the candidate's money. A contribution or expenditure is not evidence of a vote, favor or wrongdoing. This page identifies the filing by its FEC candidate ID; a person can hold more than one filing.