Minnesota state House Speaker Lisa Demuth secured the Republican nomination for governor on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, defeating Mike Lindell, the MyPillow founder and a prominent ally of former President Donald Trump, according to NBC News projections. Demuth's victory was considered an upset over Lindell, who had led in limited public polls and received Trump's endorsement.

Lindell's campaign faced significant challenges in the final weeks before the primary, including attacks from fellow Republicans and questions about his residency raised by the chairman of the Minnesota Republican Party. These internal party concerns reflected efforts by Minnesota GOP members to nominate a candidate capable of defeating Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar in the general election.

Lindell has been involved in several legal challenges since 2020, stemming from his promotion of debunked election fraud theories related to the 2020 presidential election, which President Joe Biden won.

At a Minnesota Farmfest forum earlier this month, Klobuchar appeared alongside three GOP gubernatorial candidates and accused each of being "a rubber stamp of Donald Trump." Meanwhile, Demuth and other Republicans, including Trump, have criticized Democrats in Minnesota over two major fraud scandals involving Medicaid and pandemic aid, alleging that hundreds of millions of dollars intended for welfare programs were stolen.

Demuth attributed these fraud cases to "incompetent Democrat control" and highlighted her role in establishing the Fraud Prevention Agency Oversight Committee while leading the state House.

In the most recent presidential election, then-Vice President Kamala Harris won Minnesota by about four percentage points, with Governor Tim Walz as her running mate.

The general election will pit Republican Lisa Demuth against Democrat Amy Klobuchar, who won her primary decisively.

Sources