Former sideline reporter and Republican US Senate hopeful Michele Tafoya became a prime target for fact-checkers on Thursday evening after making a wildly inaccurate statement about Democrat-led California during a television appearance.
Inaccurate Homelessness Statistics
"Almost 30 percent of Californians are homeless on any given night," Tafoya declared to host Greg Gutfeld, celebrity physician Drew Pinsky, actor Zachary Levi, and contributor Kat Timpf during a segment on Fox News.
Federal data reveals a starkly different reality. America's most populous state has approximately 187,000 homeless individuals according to official statistics. While this staggering number represents roughly one-quarter of all homelessness across the United States, it falls dramatically short of 30 percent of California's 38 million residents.
Uncorrected Claim and Backpedaling
Tafoya's assertion went unchallenged during the broadcast, though Gutfeld expressed visible surprise by repeating "Thirty percent!" with evident astonishment.
The 61-year-old Minnesota Republican candidate, who is competing for the Senate seat being vacated by Tina Smith, attempted to slightly revise her statement moments later. "I think it's 28 percent, so close to 30 percent of their population is homeless on any given night," she clarified, still maintaining a figure vastly inflated from reality.
Immediate Fact-Checking Response
CNN anchor Jake Tapper joined numerous critics in correcting Tafoya's misinformation on social media platform X. "California has a homelessness problem, with an estimated 187,000 homeless," he wrote. "California does not have 12 million homeless people."
Other fact-checkers responded with more pointed criticism. One commentator wrote, "Michelle Tafoya was out to lunch even as a sideline reporter. Now, it's just too much…" while another added sarcastically, "LOL, some of that knowledge she got as a sideline reporter."
Political Context and Campaign Background
Despite her numerical inaccuracies, Tafoya's message served as a direct critique of California Governor Gavin Newsom, a potential Democratic presidential candidate. "I can't think of anything scarier than Gavin Newsom," she told the Fox News audience.
Tafoya launched her Senate campaign in January and will face former Iowa State basketball standout Royce White in Minnesota's Republican primary. The 61-year-old married mother of two previously described herself to Sports Illustrated as "a pro-choice conservative" a decade ago, revealing political beliefs she maintained while working as a reporter for NBC's Sunday Night Football through 2021.
Primary Opponent's Controversial History
Royce White, who was Minnesota's "Mr. Basketball" as a high school senior in 2009, previously ran unsuccessfully against incumbent Senator Amy Klobuchar in 2024. His brief political career has been marred by accusations of misogyny, homophobia, and anti-Semitism.
White's basketball career showed early promise when he was selected by the Houston Rockets with the 16th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, but his professional trajectory was hampered by mental health challenges including an intense fear of flying. Former Rockets executive Daryl Morey has described White as "the worst first-round pick ever," a characterization that seems justified given White appeared in only three NBA games without scoring a single point.
Tafoya currently hosts a self-titled podcast covering various topics, while continuing her political campaign that has now been marked by this significant factual misstatement about California's homelessness crisis.
