Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth defeated -endorsed MyPillow founder Mike Lindell in the primary for governor on Tuesday, Aug. 11, emerging as the GOP nominee for a November showdown with Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
Demuth’s victory was significant because Lindell entered the race with the backing of President Donald Trump and had led some early polling. But Demuth’s experience in politics and her emphasis on government fraud and spending helped her prevail in the crowded Republican field.
The 59-year-old Republican now faces Klobuchar in the race to replace Gov. Tim Walz, who is not seeking another term.
Who is Lisa Demuth?
Demuth is a lifelong Minnesotan who was born in Paynesville in 1967. She graduated from Bloomington Kennedy in 1985 before going into business. She later co-owned and managed commercial property with her husband, Nick.
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Her political career began at the local level. Demuth served on the Rockville-Cold Spring-Richmond school board from 2007 to 2018 before winning election to the Minnesota House in 2018. She assumed her state House seat in January 2019.
In February 2025, Demuth made Minnesota political history when she became the first Black person and first Republican woman to serve as speaker of the Minnesota House. She defeated Democratic Rep. Melissa Hortman in a 67-65 vote.
What to know about Lisa Demuth’s family
Demuth is married to Nick Demuth, and the couple has built their family and business life in Greater Minnesota.
Her says Lisa and Nick have four children and seven grandchildren.
The family has deep Minnesota roots. In a 2019 profile published by the Minnesota House, Demuth spoke about meeting Nick’s family and highlighted his parents’ history of taking in foster children. His parents reportedly housed 50 foster children over the years before his mother’s health problems led them to stop.
Demuth has frequently incorporated her family into her political message, presenting herself as a lifelong Minnesotan whose priorities were shaped by faith, family, community and small-business experience.
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Demuth’s net worth
Her family’s financial picture is more complicated than her legislative salary because Demuth has had business and commercial-property interests with her husband. Minnesota officials are required to file financial disclosures, but those disclosures should not automatically be treated as a precise calculation of a politician’s total personal wealth.
Some online celebrity-wealth websites publish multimillion-dollar estimates for Demuth, but those figures are not independently verified and should therefore be treated cautiously.
Her campaign finances are separate from her personal wealth. As of March 31, 2026, her gubernatorial campaign had raised about $225,802 and reported $543,942 in cash on hand, according to campaign-finance data compiled by .
That money belongs to the campaign and should not be described as Demuth’s personal net worth.
What does Demuth stand for?
Fraud prevention has become one of the defining issues of Demuth’s gubernatorial campaign.
She has accused Minnesota Democrats of failing to prevent large-scale fraud in state programs and has proposed creating a nonpartisan Office of Inspector General with broader powers to investigate fraud.
She has also campaigned on public safety, education, energy costs, business regulation and taxes.
What happens next?
Demuth’s Republican primary victory sets up a high-profile general election against Klobuchar, who easily won the nomination.
The November race will determine who succeeds Walz, who abandoned his planned bid for a third term earlier this year.
