Trump endorses Mike Lindell for Minnesota governor

President Donald Trump endorsed Mike Lindell for Minnesota governor Wednesday, boosting the MyPillow CEO’s campaign weeks before the Aug. 11 GOP primary.

Lindell is squaring off against House Speaker Lisa Demuth and retired health care executive and Army veteran Kendall Qualls, who won the endorsement at the state GOP convention in the spring. 

Trump has a near perfect record when it comes to endorsing in GOP primaries this year. Democrats are eager to run against Lindell given his foibles — the Reformer recently reported he hasn’t paid nearly $50,000 in property taxes on his Tonka Bay home, for instance. Lindell can’t be underestimated, however: He has a prodigious media machine that can generate a constant stream of content about himself. 

Trump and Lindell have been friendly for years, so the president’s endorsement is not surprising. 

“(Lindell) truly loves Minnesota, as do I, and wants to bring it back from oblivion and embarrassment. He can do it!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Nobody has sacrificed more than Mike Lindell in fighting for our country, especially when it comes to Election Integrity. He truly deserves everything he gets – He will MAKE MINNESOTA GREAT AGAIN!!! MIKE LINDELL HAS MY COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT – HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN.”

In a Reformer interview, Lindell said Trump’s endorsement will allow him to focus on fundraising and plan ahead to the November general election.

“It just brings a lot more hope. I can be a lot more proactive. I’m not gonna let up on winning the primary and take it for granted. That’s not me,” Lindell said. “I can put a lot more focus on — not taking the primary for granted — but focused on getting money and doing the planning of how we’re going to market now going against Amy Klobuchar.”

Lindell, Qualls and Demuth all said they would have welcomed Trump’s endorsement despite the president losing in Minnesota in 2016, 2020 and 2024, and his 41% approval rating in the state, according to a Star Tribune/KARE 11/Hubbard School of Journalism poll released last month.

The winner of the August primary election will face presumptive Democratic nominee for governor Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who is amassing a massive fundraising advantage and is Minnesota’s most proven vote-getter.

Minnesota Republican Party Chairman Alex Plechash in a statement denounced Lindell, stating he was not an electable candidate, especially against Klobuchar.

“When the going got tough under Tim Walz, Mike Lindell left Minnesota for Texas. Now he wants Minnesota Republicans to overlook his serious financial baggage, public records showing tens of thousands in delinquent property taxes, significant electability concerns and unanswered questions surrounding his running mate,” Plechash said. “Minnesota cannot afford to nominate a ticket that gives Democrats an easy target and creates the very real possibility of another DFL trifecta.”

Lindell says he’s spent millions of dollars promoting baseless claims about widespread election fraud in the 2020 election — which Trump cited in his endorsement. Trump has remained fixated on conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, and on Thursday he’s expected to deliver a primetime address about voting machines and election integrity.

Lindell on Wednesday also praised the timing of Trump’s endorsement.

“What perfect timing on the heels of tomorrow night’s big announcement of declassifying all the evidence from the 2020 election that you guys (the media) have called me a liar,” Lindell said. 

A June poll found Lindell leading the race over Qualls and Demuth, though primary polling is notoriously difficult. Klobuchar had a significant lead in a potential match-up with Lindell, 53% to Lindell’s 36%.

According to Ballotpedia News, 97% of Trump-endorsed candidates won their primaries this election cycle. Trump-endorsed candidates in 2026 primaries have won 220 of the 227 races so far. This is similar to 2020 when 98% of Trump-endorsed candidates won their primaries.

Qualls, the GOP-endorsed candidate for governor, in a statement said he’s a staunch Trump supporter, but the primary race “won’t be won by national endorsements.”

“Republican delegates did the hard work and got it right at the statewide convention in Duluth. I’m trusting them and their fellow Republicans that are closest to the issues of Minnesota,” Qualls said. “They know that I’m the one candidate that can beat a 20-year sitting U.S. Senator, not Lisa Demuth or Mike Lindell.”

Demuth in a statement said she’s partnered with Trump “on a number of issues that have helped put more money back into the pockets of Minnesotans,” and she noted that she helped pass tax conformity laws under the president’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“President Trump has put America first, and as governor I will put Minnesota first,” Demuth said. “I am laser focused on winning the Aug. 11 Republican primary, and then defeating Amy Klobuchar and the radical Democrats up and down the ballot in November.”

Klobuchar also issued a statement about Trump’s endorsement: “Mike Lindell is Donald Trump’s choice. I hope to be Minnesota’s.”