Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) on Tuesday accused former President Trump of preparing to subvert the results of Minnesota's Senate contest, saying he is "blatantly laying the groundwork to steal an election if his chosen candidate doesn't win."
In a sharply worded post on X, the retiring senator dismissed Trump's threats as hollow, noting that Minnesota voters have rejected him at the ballot box three times and are poised to do so again. "Minnesota will not take kindly to thinly veiled threats from a guy we've rejected three times (soon to be four)," she wrote.
Smith's comments came in response to Trump's social-media warning that his administration would be "watching closely" for voter fraud in the race between Republican Michele Tafoya and Democrat Peggy Flanagan to fill Smith's seat. In a Truth Social post on Monday, Trump urged supporters to back Tafoya and asserted that "the only way she can lose is if they cheat by playing games with the Ballots as they come in."
The former president has repeatedly claimed, without offering evidence, that he would have carried Minnesota in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections if votes had been counted properly. He also noted that no Republican has won the state's electoral votes since Richard Nixon in 1972.
Trump's intervention comes as the Senate race has tightened. Recent polling averages compiled by RealClearPolling show Flanagan leading Tafoya by roughly 3.5 percentage points, but Republican strategists see an opening amid public anger over a sprawling fraud scandal in Minnesota's social services programs that siphoned hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars. GOP ads have sought to tie Flanagan and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz to what they call a "culture of corruption" in St. Paul.
Tafoya, a former state Supreme Court justice, has positioned herself as a moderate in the primary, running ads that tout her "pro-choice Republican" credentials and her willingness to "stand up to my party." She has also hammered Flanagan for "put[ting] politics first and let[ting] fraudsters steal your money."
Flanagan, the state's lieutenant governor, has focused her campaign on economic issues, running spots that promise to "help people afford their lives" and to "end Trump's tax breaks for billionaires." She has also backed "Medicare for All" and warned that Tafoya would be "another senator for Trump."
Political analysts say Trump's rhetoric could backfire in a state where his unpopularity has been a consistent factor in Democratic victories. His claims of a rigged election echo his broader efforts to cast doubt on U.S. electoral integrity, a strategy that has drawn criticism from voting-rights advocates. Smith's sharp rebuke underscores the high stakes of the race, which could help determine control of the Senate.
The contest remains fluid, with both campaigns expected to pour resources into the final weeks. Trump's involvement, however, has added a volatile element, raising the possibility that the outcome could be contested if the margin is narrow. For now, Smith's warning serves as a reminder that Minnesota Democrats are bracing for a fight—not just at the ballot box, but over the legitimacy of the result itself.
