What did Mike Lindell’s campaign spend its money on in June and July? Tough to say.
Republican primary voters who want to know how pillow mogul Mike Lindell is spending his campaign dollars won’t have much to go on based on the final pre-primary campaign finance report, which was released Tuesday by the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board.
The campaign’s last reported expense for the MyPillow CEO’s campaign was on June 30 — $545 to reimburse mileage, according to the campaign’s pre-primary finance report. It reported no expenses in July.
GOP-endorsed candidate Kendall Qualls and House Speaker Lisa Demuth are also running for the Republican nomination for governor in the Aug. 11 primary election. Early voting has already begun.
Lindell and his running mate, Phillip Parrish, told the Reformer on Tuesday that the campaign has spent about $200,000 recently, but it only got billed for the charges in the past few days — after the campaign finance reporting period. The $200,000 in expenses should show up in the next campaign finance report, Lindell said.
“The majority of the expenditures didn’t shake loose until just only in the last few days,” Parrish said. Lindell said the majority of the campaign’s recent spending has been on yard signs.
Lindell is leading the latest polls and prediction market odds, underscoring how changes in technology and media have empowered unconventional candidates. Lindell’s pillows and ubiquitous TV appearances have made him a household name. He secured the endorsement of his pal President Donald Trump earlier this month, and Lindell promotes himself for hours a day on his own LindellTV network.
Lindell has raised over $726,000 in campaign donations this year, and his campaign had $88,000 in cash as of July 20, according to the campaign’s latest finance report.
Demuth has the most cash on hand compared to her Republican primary opponents, with over $456,000. The campaign has raised over $550,000 this year.
Qualls’ campaign has over $67,000 in cash and has raised over $410,000 this year.
Whoever wins the GOP gubernatorial primary will have to quickly pivot to running against Minnesota’s most prolific fundraiser: Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
The senior senator has raised over $9.3 million since launching her bid for governor at the end of January. The Klobuchar campaign has about $4.5 million cash on hand.
Klobuchar’s campaign has spent about half of what it’s raised in donations already this year, with the majority of the spending going toward digital ads, mailers and campaign consulting.
Klobuchar’s staggering cash advantage will likely be compounded by outside spending by DFL-aligned allies like the Alliance for a Better Minnesota.
In addition to the governor’s race, all 201 seats in the Minnesota Legislature will be on the ballot in November, so the rival legislative caucuses and political parties are fundraising and will spend big to gain control of state government.
Both legislative chambers feature just a handful of competitive districts, which means voters in those battlegrounds can expect a torrent of mail and digital advertising in the months to come.
House Democrats have raised $2.8 million this year and have spent little of it so far. The campaign has about $2.5 million in cash.
House Republicans have raised about $1 million so far this year and have over $1.7 million cash on hand.
In the Senate, Democrats are hoping to widen their current one-seat majority. Senate Democrats have raised nearly $3 million this year and have about $3.7 million in cash.
Senate Republicans reported raising nearly $1.5 million this year and have over $3.2 million cash on hand.