Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth has won the Republican gubernatorial primary and will move on to face the Democratic nominee in November to replace outgoing Gov. The victory amounts to a significant show of strength for Demuth, who stayed in the race after losing the Republican Party endorsement to Kendall Qualls at the state convention. Additionally, Demuth defeated MyPillow founder and CEO Mike Lindell, who had President Donald Trump’s endorsement and has national name recognition. No Republican has won a statewide election in the state since 2006, when Gov. But his administration also faced sustained criticism over its handling of fraud in state programs that prosecutors say could total over $9 billion.