Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth won her state’s Republican primary for governor on Tuesday, defeating former MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell who boasted an endorsement from President Donald Trump.
Demuth secured 43.4% of the vote to Lindell’s 32.5%, with 99% of the ballots counted as of Wednesday morning. She now advances to the November general election to face Democratic nominee Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) in an open-seat race to succeed outgoing Democratic Governor Tim Walz.
Demuth’s victory marks a significant milestone in her rapid rise through state politics. First elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2018 representing District 13A, she quickly built a reputation as an effective party leader. She won four consecutive House elections by increasingly decisive margins before becoming the House Republican minority leader in 2022.
Following the 2024 elections, which resulted in an even 67–67 partisan tie in the chamber, Demuth was elected speaker of the House in early 2025 after a protracted leadership fight that reached the Minnesota Supreme Court. Prior to her legislative career, Demuth was a local business owner and served 11 years on the ROCORI School Board.
Trump endorsed Lindell in a post on Truth Social on July 15, writing, “If given the chance, Mike will be SPECTACULAR!!! He truly loves Minnesota, as do I, and wants to bring it back from oblivion and embarrassment.” On Tuesday, Trump again urged Minnesotans to vote for Lindell.
“Mike Lindell deserves a BIG WIN IN MINNESOTA today,” Trump wrote. “Nobody has worked harder, and given up so much, in fighting for free and fair Elections.”
Last month, Lindell sparked conservative backlash when he came out in support of an amnesty period for illegal immigrants in some cases.
“I’d like the whole United States to do this, but let’s say I did it here in Minnesota,” Lindell told the Washington Examiner. “Six months, all the illegal immigrants would have to go get what’s going to be called a conditional work visa.”
Trump’s endorsement of Lindell reflected a decade-long relationship between Trump and Lindell that evolved from a casual business connection into one of the most persistent political alliances in the MAGA movement.
The two men first met at Trump Tower in August 2016, where they bonded over American manufacturing and entrepreneurship. Lindell appeared frequently at Trump campaign rallies and White House events during Trump’s presidency. Their bond deepened substantially following the 2020 presidential election, as Lindell emerged as one of the most aggressive defenders of Trump’s election claims, funding media platforms and events to challenge the results.
Despite Trump’s backing, primary voters ultimately favored Demuth’s legislative track record, setting up a stark general election contrast with Sen. Klobuchar, who secured the Democratic nomination with 89.1% of the vote.
Demuth has focused heavily on investigating state grant programs following recent social service spending scandals. She advocates for stricter sentencing guidelines for repeat offenders and increased resources for law enforcement and supports expanding school choice scholarship credits, refocusing K-12 curricula on core academic subjects, and lifting state restrictions on new nuclear power generation.
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