Trump-Backed Election Denier Mike Lindell Loses Minnesota GOP Gubernatorial Primary

['Khaya Himmelman', 'Is A Reporter At Tpm', 'Based In New York. She Previously Covered Politics', 'Misinformation For The Messenger', 'Grid', 'The Dispatch.', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline'] News – TPM – Talking Points Memo 2026-08-12 06:08:02

Pillow magnate and election denier Mike Lindell lost a high-stakes Minnesota GOP gubernatorial primary on Tuesday, despite receiving an endorsement from President Donald Trump last month. He also lost the Minnesota Republican Party’s endorsement in the race in June to former health care executive and army veteran, Kendall Qualls. Despite the state Republican Party’s backing of another candidate, Lindell remained in the race, confident he would win the primary, and polls over the past week even indicated he had a shot. With 73% of votes counted, the Associated Press called the race for Republican state House Speaker Lisa Demuth just before 11:30 p.m. The sanctions were related to a “frivolous” lawsuit Lindell brought against the voting machine company in the wake of the 2020 election.