Lindell has previously spread baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump
Credit: Shelby Tauber/Bloomberg via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Mike Lindell lost the Minnesota Republican gubernatorial primary to state House Speaker Lisa Demuth by 11 points on Tuesday, Aug. 11
- Lindell, the MyPillow founder endorsed by Donald Trump, has refused to concede the race to Demuth
- Lindell previously spread baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump
Mike Lindell refused to immediately concede the primary for Minnesota governor.
The MyPillow founder, 65, lost the race to determine Minnesota’s Republican candidate in the upcoming gubernatorial race this November, falling 11 points short to winner Lisa Demuth after polls projected his success.
On election night on Aug. 11, Lindell, who baselessly denied the results of the 2020 election, also refused to accept the results of the Minnesota governor primary. When a reporter asked him if he’d concede if The Associated Press called the election with Demuth as the winner, Lindell had an impassioned response.
“Why would I listen to the AP? There’s 265,000 votes left — I’m down by 18,000 now,” Lindell said on his live network, LindellTV. “I’m not going to give up this race until the votes are counted. That’s nonsense.”
He later told reporters that he needed to review the results before accepting them, saying, “It just doesn’t make sense, you guys. So we need a day. We’re going to look into it.”
“We’ve got different teams right now. I’ve been on the phone with three of them. And the one person said, ‘Yes, we’ve seen a couple of anomalies,’ ” he added.
Credit: Anthony Souffle/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getting Images
With 99% of votes counted, Demuth won the Republican primary with 43.5% of the vote, while Lindell received 32.5%, per The New York Times and The Associated Press. The latter called the race just before 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday night.
Though he lost by several points, Lindell was seen as the frontrunner heading into Tuesday, according to polls ahead of the primary.
Lindell, a staunch ally of Donald Trump, received the president’s endorsement last month, and again on the morning of the primary. On his Truth Social platform, Trump urged Minnesotans to vote for Lindell.
“Mike Lindell deserves a BIG WIN IN MINNESOTA today. Nobody has worked harder, and given up so much, in fighting for free and fair Elections,” Trump wrote on Aug. 11. “Go out, NOW, and VOTE for Mike Lindell for Governor. He will not let you down.”
Credit: Leigh Vogel/Getty for Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library
Widely known for his chaotic, late-night infomercials for MyPillow, Lindell previously tried and failed to run bars, restaurants and a carpet cleaning business, and later told CNBC he struggled with “years of crack addiction.” He became an unexpected voice in politics during the first term of Trump, whom he told PEOPLE was chosen by God to lead the country.
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Less than a week before the primary, Lindell stepped down from being the MyPillow CEO to “devote 100% of my time and energy to my campaign,” he wrote in a post on X.
Demuth, the Minnesota House speaker, will now face U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who won the Democratic primary for governor, in November.
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