MyPillow CEO and founder Mike Lindell is reportedly refusing to concede Minnesota’s Republican gubernatorial primary after falling behind state Rep. Lisa Demuth, the speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Lindell, a longtime supporter of President Donald Trump who received the president’s endorsement in the race, trailed Demuth by a significant margin as votes were counted Tuesday night.
With more than 95% of the expected vote reported, Demuth led Lindell 43% to 32%.
But Lindell insisted the race was not over, pointing to the number of votes he said remained outstanding and suggesting that election-day ballots could change the outcome.
“I’m down by 20,000 votes with 277,000 votes left to count,” Lindell said Tuesday night as ballots were being tallied.
“Now, would you give up if you got 277,000 left to count? And these are the day-of votes, which haven’t been counted yet,” he continued. “These were all mail-in and early votes for Lisa Demuth. So, I mean, why would I say here and go, ‘Ok, I can’t make up 20,000 [with] 277,000 left to count?’ So, that’s where we’re at.”
Lindell also raised questions about the vote count.
Kirsten Swanson of KSTP TV in St. Paul reported that Lindell was refusing to concede and claimed his campaign had spotted potential irregularities.
“Lindell will not concede,” Swanson reported. “Claims there are anomalies in the numbers that his teams will be looking into overnight.”
Lindell has repeatedly challenged the results of the 2020 presidential election, falsely claiming that the contest was rigged against Trump.
In 2025, Lindell was found liable for defamation involving Eric Coomer, a former employee of Dominion Voting Systems. Lindell, Trump and others had falsely claimed Dominion helped rig the 2020 election for Joe Biden. Lindell was ordered to pay Coomer $2.3 million in damages.
Trump, meanwhile, made a final push for Lindell just hours before his defeat, urging Minnesota Republicans to turn out for the MyPillow founder.
“Mike Lindell deserves a BIG WIN IN MINNESOTA today,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Nobody has worked harder, and given up so much, in fighting for free and fair Elections.”
The president then urged supporters to head to the polls.
“Go out, NOW, and VOTE for Mike Lindell for Governor,” Trump added. “He will not let you down.”
Despite Trump’s last-minute appeal, Demuth emerged victorious in the Republican primary.
Demuth will now advance to the general election, where she is set to face Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
Klobuchar easily secured her party’s nomination in Tuesday’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, setting up the general-election contest between the senator and the Minnesota House speaker.
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