Mike Lindell, a pillow company executive and Trump supporter, declined to accept defeat in Minnesota’s Republican gubernatorial primary held on Tuesday, despite the Associated Press calling the race for opponent Lisa Demuth. With nearly all votes counted, Demuth led by more than 45,000 votes, capturing 43.4% to Lindell’s 32.5%. Businessman Kendall Qualls, backed by the state Republican party, finished in third place.
When informed by a reporter on his streaming channel that the AP had declared the race concluded, Lindell dismissed the news service’s authority to make such determinations. He claimed hundreds of thousands of votes remained uncounted and stated he would not concede until voting was fully tallied. Lindell did not respond to requests for comment regarding his next steps in contesting the result.
Lindell has built his political profile on assertions that former President Trump’s 2020 loss resulted from election fraud, investing what he described as tens of millions of dollars in pursuing that claim through legal action, films, and conferences. Courts have repeatedly dismissed these cases. Last month, Lindell settled a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit brought by voting technology company Liberty Vote, formerly known as Dominion Voting Systems, over statements related to election fraud allegations.
Lindell’s candidacy faced separate controversy regarding his eligibility, as he remained registered to vote in Texas for weeks while seeking Minnesota’s governorship, though same-day registration rules permitted him to both vote and run. Trump made a late push for Lindell before Tuesday’s voting, urging Minnesota Republicans to support him and praising his stance on elections.
Demuth will become the first woman to win a Minnesota Republican gubernatorial nomination. She will face Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, who won her primary, in the general election to succeed retiring Governor Tim Walz. The primary result marked another setback for Trump-backed candidates in recent races.
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