MyPillow founder Mike Lindell refused to concede his Minnesota Republican gubernatorial primary loss to state House Speaker Lisa Demuth (R-Minn.), questioning the vote count despite her decisive lead.
Lindell Challenges Minnesota Primary Results
On Tuesday, Lindell lost to Demuth by roughly 11 percentage points, according to Decision Desk HQ.
Demuth received about 43.4% of the vote to Lindell’s 32.4%.
Asked on his LindellTV network whether he would concede if The Associated Press called the race for Demuth, Lindell responded, “Why would I listen to the AP?”
“There’s 265,000 votes left to count. I’m down by 18,000 now,” he said.
He added, “I’m not going to give up this race until the votes are counted. That’s nonsense.”
Lindell has previously questioned the integrity of U.S. elections and promoted President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
Lindell and Demuth did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comments.
Klobuchar Won DFL Primary
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) won the Democratic gubernatorial primary with 614,474 votes, or 89.7% of the total vote, according to the Associated Press.
Demuth Celebrates GOP Victory
On Wednesday, in a post on X, Demuth called it an “absolute honor” to become the Republican candidate for Minnesota governor and described her primary victory as a “major milestone.”
She said Minnesotans had made clear they were ready for “real change” and pledged to “end the fraud” and restore “common sense” to state government.
Demuth urged supporters to focus on the November election, saying, “Let’s go win in November!”
Trump Backs Lindell as Lieu Mocks Him
Earlier this week, Trump urged Minnesota Republican voters to support Lindell, saying, “Mike Lindell deserves a BIG WIN IN MINNESOTA today.”
Trump praised Lindell for fighting for what he called “free and fair Elections” and urged voters to cast their ballots for him, adding, “He will not let you down.”
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) mocked Lindell’s refusal to concede, sarcastically saying “Venezuela rigged the election against Mike Lindell because they don’t like his pillows” and adding, “Never seen anything like it.”
Lindell Left MyPillow for Governor Bid
Last week, Lindell stepped down as CEO after 22 years, reduced his ownership stake to a minority position and remained a shareholder and board member to focus on his Minnesota gubernatorial campaign.
Lindell said the decision allowed him to devote “100%” of his time and energy to the campaign.
In July, Trump endorsed Lindell for governor, calling him one of America’s “greatest and most hard-working Patriots.”
He thanked Trump and pledged to “Make Minnesota Great Again!”
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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