Businessman and the founder of MyPillow, , has refused to concede defeat in the Republican primary for last week and has offered to pay for a full recount of the paper ballots. In a video message posted on social media, Lindell, who was endorsed by Trump in the Republican primary, said that this recount will cover every paper ballot in the August 11 primary and will not cost taxpayers anything. He said he is seeking the recount after what he described as “irregularities” in election reporting data.
“One of the few good election laws Minnesota does have is that as a candidate, I have the right to completely audit and hand count every ballot in the state, and I am going to exercise that right to the full extent of the law,” he said.
Trump endorsed Mike Lindell
Despite the endorsement from Trump, who said Lindell “deserves a BIG WIN IN MINNESOTA,” he was defeated by Lisa Demuth by roughly 11 percentage points in the Republican primary for governor on 11 August. The large margin also meant that there was no automatic state-funded recount, for which the threshold is 0.25%.
According to CBS News, a full recount of the governor and lieutenant governor races would cost roughly $825,000. Lindell has time until Monday, 24 August, to get both the request and payment to the secretary of state’s office.
From ‘MyPillow Guy to election conspiracy theorist
Lindell, who became a household name in the US as the ‘MyPillow Guy’ after featuring in TV ads for his brand, ventured into politics in 2016 as a Trump supporter.
He was also one of the most high-profile voices that claimed that the 2020 US Presidential Election, which Trump lost, was stolen. In September 2025, a US court had ruled that Lindell defamed the election technology company Smartmatic with false statements that its voting machines helped rig the 2020 presidential election. Lindell was also sued by , the makers of the voting machines, seeking $1.3 billion in damages, accusing him of pushing false conspiracy theories, despite knowing they were lies.
Dominion, which was sold to a former Republican election official in October 2025, announced last month that the two parties have settled out of court.
Despite the margin of his defeat, Lindell had for nearly a week refused to concede defeat against Demuth, who will now face Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar in the governor’s election on November 3, 2026.
Incumbent Governor , who was the running mate of Kamala Harris in 2024, had announced that he is not seeking a third term in office.
