Minnesota voters on Tuesday delivered a decisive defeat to MyPillow founder Mike Lindell in the Republican gubernatorial primary, selecting State House Speaker Lisa Demuth to face off against Sen. Amy Klobuchar in the fall general election. Demuth secured over 15 percentage points more than Lindell and Army veteran Kendall Qualls in the crowded GOP field.
Demuth, the first Black lawmaker and first Republican woman to serve as speaker of the Minnesota House, ran on a platform of fiscal responsibility and preventing fraud. "No longer will our government be fixated on shoveling out taxpayer dollars first and asking questions later," she stated. "We will transform Minnesota’s state government into a fiscal and moral steward of our tax dollars."
Lindell, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, had positioned himself as a champion of election integrity. Trump urged his supporters on Truth Social to vote for Lindell, emphasizing his work in challenging the 2020 election results. However, Lindell lacked the endorsement of the Minnesota Republican Party, which had backed Qualls in May.
Lindell, who founded MyPillow after overcoming a crack cocaine addiction, announced his candidacy in December, stating he was the most qualified person to "save" Minnesota. He has been a prominent voice amplifying claims of a rigged 2020 presidential election. Lindell and Dominion Voting Systems recently settled a defamation lawsuit over his unsubstantiated allegations regarding the company's voting software.
In the Democratic primary, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who has represented Minnesota in the U.S. Senate since 2007, easily defeated six other candidates. Several prominent state Democrats, including Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Attorney General Keith Ellison, opted not to run for governor.
Klobuchar announced her candidacy in January, shortly after incumbent Gov. Tim Walz decided against seeking a third term amidst a state benefit fraud scandal. The incoming governor will face the challenge of addressing the fallout from billions of dollars in stolen taxpayer funds, primarily linked to fraud schemes involving social services. Klobuchar has pledged to implement a "Fraud Prevention Plan" and conduct a "top-to-bottom audit" of state agencies.
Minnesota has not elected a Republican governor since Tim Pawlenty's second term ended in 2006. Klobuchar, who previously served as the lead prosecutor in Hennepin County, has a history of winning statewide elections by significant margins.