She won’t be sidelined in Congress?When Michele Tafoya became the Republican nominee for Senate from Minnesota Tuesday night, the longtime Sunday Night Football reporter made a resounding entrance onto the political stage. Tafoya collected more than twice as many votes as her nearest opponent, a former Navy SEAL. Her chances of winning in November are now surprisingly high for someone who’s never run for public office: the broadcaster has a deep war-chest while some pundits favor her against a vulnerable far-left opponent, lieutenant governor Peggy Flanagan of Democratic-Farmer-Labor (Minnesota’s Democratic Party).But Tafoya also sent a different signal with her win: the tradition of television entertainers diving into Minnesota politics is alive and well. Former pro wrestler Jesse Ventura did it, winning an election for governor in 1998 in a shocking upset. Comedian and SNL veteran Al Franken did it, winning an election for senator in 2008 in a shocking drama (a recount and a few hundred votes). A pair of local TV fixtures, news anchor Rod Grams and entrepreneur and TV-commercial mainstay Rudy Boschwitz, did it, each serving as senators in the last few decades of the 20th century.And now Tafoya is looking to do it too. “We really do seem to out kick the coverage,” veteran Minnesota political consultant and commentator Blois Olson tells The Hollywood Reporter when asked in a phone interview about the trend, (possibly) intending a fitting metaphor.