President Donald Trump endorsed MyPillow founder Mike Lindell for Minnesota governor — and the state GOP establishment openly defied him.
Trump backed the “Pillow Man” in July to replace “one of the worst and most incompetent governors in the history of the U.S.A.,” Tim Walz. Walz planned to run for a third term but pulled his reelection bid as controversy swirled over fraud in Minnesota’s Somali community, prompting Sen. Amy Klobuchar to run.
Minnesota’s Republican establishment responded to Trump’s endorsement with open defiance.
“We were surprised by President Trump’s endorsement of Mike Lindell. We strongly support the President and his agenda, but Minnesota Republicans must choose the candidate best positioned to defeat Amy Klobuchar.”
State GOP Chairman Alex Plechash issued that statement soon after Trump’s announcement. Instead of Lindell, the party elevated healthcare executive Kendall Qualls at its Duluth convention in May.
Qualls won the party endorsement on the 10th ballot with 60.4% of the vote. Yet a recent poll placed Lindell first with 35% support compared to state House Speaker Lisa Demuth’s 26%. Qualls was a distant third with 11%.
Lindell didn’t hold back on the Minnesota GOP.
“The Minnesota GOP needs to be completely revamped,” Lindell told the Washington Examiner. “It’s dysfunctional, the most dysfunctional GOP I’ve seen in the whole country.”
Lindell’s crusade against alleged fraud in the 2020 presidential election made him a MAGA star — but it also left the MyPillow founder financially strained and embroiled in litigation with voting machine companies Dominion and Smartmatic.
Ahead of Tuesday’s primary election, Lindell said he “absolutely” would “do it all again.”
“You know, was I worth $100 million at one time? Yeah,” Lindell said. “Has the value of MyPillow gone down? Absolutely. But we’re still standing, still going strong, and still profitable.”
Lindell has worked to fend off attacks from both sides throughout his campaign.
Democratic state senate candidate Dan Fiskum filed a complaint against Lindell in Minnesota court late last month. Fiskum alleges Lindell violated campaign finance law by distributing pillows with “Mike Lindell for Governor” packaging at a Fourth of July parade in Delano. He argues the pillows are worth around $35 — more than the $5 gifts allowed under state law.
This is a video from Mike Lindell’s Facebook showing him and team members tossing free My Pillows to people at a parade in Foley, MN. https://t.co/YdGIaiEuInpic.twitter.com/8UQo3soNVV
— Chenue Her (@ChenueHer) August 7, 2026
Lindell responded that his campaign had “dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s, and our lawyers have approved everything.” He said his campaign cleared the pillows with the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board because their wholesale value was below $5.
“So I just think it’s a string of attacks, and it’s going all the way back to when I announced I was running for governor,” Lindell said during a hearing earlier this week. “And I think the plaintiffs are at the tip of the spear on these attacks.”
An administrative judge found probable cause for the complaint to move forward on Thursday. A panel of three judges will hear the case — though that will not happen before Tuesday’s primary election.
Critics also argued that Lindell was not, until recently, a registered Minnesota voter.
The Minnesota Star Tribune ran a story last month finding that Lindell was not registered to vote in his home state. Lindell, a lifelong Minnesota resident, moved to Texas in 2024 after marrying his current wife, Kendra.
Though Lindell returned to Minnesota to launch his campaign, the Star Tribune found he was still registered to vote in Texas as of July. The Minnesota secretary of state’s office told the paper that Lindell “does not have an active record” in the state.
Lindell said he should have been automatically registered when he applied for his new Minnesota driver’s license. He provided the Washington Examiner with a copy of a temporary license issued in September 2025.
“They do not take it off the state that you move from, and that’s not the person’s responsibility,” Lindell said, referring to his Texas registration. “That is these computers that are used in our elections that need to be taken out of our country for good.”
State records now indicate Lindell is a registered Minnesota voter as of late last month.
Lindell recently stepped down from the top role at MyPillow to focus on the gubernatorial race.
“After 22 years of leading MyPillow, I know the company is ready for its next chapter and I know Minnesota cannot wait,” Lindell said in a press release last week. “This decision is not about walking away. It is about stepping forward to serve.”
Though the GOP nomination remains undecided, Lindell has already begun taking shots at Klobuchar.
Lindell said he has had brief interactions with “Angry Amy,” whose booth at the Minnesota State Fair was across from his.
“She’d come there the first day, and her and I would say hello,” Lindell said. “But you know, she’s a very angry person. That’s what I hear about her. I don’t know her that well.”
Lindell said it depends on whether he would call Klobuchar to concede if he advances to the general election and loses in November.
“I’m not going to concede a fraudulent election,” Lindell said. “I will concede and congratulate her on a righteous, secure election.”
Today, I’ve made one of the biggest decisions of my life. I'm stepping down as CEO of MyPillow so I can devote 100% of my time and energy to my campaign for Governor of Minnesota.
Minnesota deserves my full attention, and that's exactly what I'm giving it. I'm all in, and I… pic.twitter.com/bqC10IWkSz
— Mike Lindell (@realMikeLindell) August 4, 2026
