Duluth News Tribune Runs Forum Communications Endorsement of Republican Michele Tafoya for U.S. Senate

ANALYSIS · October 11, 2026

Slug: minnesota-newspaper-duluth-news-tribune-endorses-republican

Package note: This analyzes a newspaper editorial endorsement in Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race. The endorsement was checked against the editorial on the Duluth News Tribune’s own site. An editorial endorsement is an opinion. It has no legal effect on the ballot, voters, or election officials.

Primary sources

  • Duluth News Tribune, “Endorsement: Independent-minded Michele Tafoya ready for US Senate” (FCC Editorial Advisory Board, Oct. 10, 2026): https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/opinion/editorials/endorsement-independent-minded-michele-tafoya-ready-for-us-senate
  • First flagged by: Written by Mike LaChance at TheGatewayPundit.com: https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/10/minnesota-newspaper-duluth-news-tribune-endorses-republican-michele/

On October 10, 2026, the Duluth News Tribune published an editorial endorsing Republican Michele Tafoya for Minnesota’s U.S. Senate seat in the November 3 election. Sen. Tina Smith is not running again, so the seat is open. According to the editorial, the endorsement was decided by the Forum Communications (FCC) Editorial Advisory Board and approved by the company’s ownership. Forum Communications owns the News Tribune, and the same editorial also ran on its other sites, including InForum in Fargo.

Core Tension

This is a chain endorsement, not the Duluth newsroom alone. The editorial says the decision came from Forum Communications’ advisory board. The board presents Tafoya, a former NFL sideline reporter, as an independent-minded candidate who would be fiscally responsible. It also notes that she has not been endorsed by President Trump. Whether a newspaper endorsement moves votes in a statewide race is an open question.

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