Trump Endorsed the MyPillow Guy as Minnesota Governor. The State GOP Isn’t Buying It

Mike Lindell is a former drug addict turned pillow salesman who has no experience in political office. He has spent the last six years, and millions of dollars, boosting election conspiracy theories, even claiming that the “devil” stole the 2020 election.

Lindell is now running for Minnesota governor and already has President Donald Trump’s endorsement.

“Mike will be SPECTACULAR!!! He truly loves Minnesota, as do I, and wants to bring it back from oblivion and embarrassment,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Over the weekend, Trump praised Lindell in person at a fundraiser, and boosted Lindell again on Tuesday, writing: “Mike Lindell would be a GREAT Governor. He loves Minnesota with all of his heart.”

While polls show Lindell is the clear favorite to win the Republican nomination in the primary on August 11, Trump’s endorsement was far from welcome for the Minnesota GOP.

“We were surprised by President Trump’s endorsement of Mike Lindell,” Alex Plechash, Minnesota Republican Party chairman, wrote in a statement posted on the party’s website hours after Trump’s initial endorsement. Plechash went on to slam Lindell’s credentials:

“When the going got tough under Tim Walz, Mike Lindell left Minnesota for Texas,” the party chairman wrote. “Now he wants Minnesota Republicans to overlook his serious financial baggage, public records showing tens of thousands of dollars in delinquent property taxes, significant electability concerns, and unanswered questions surrounding his running mate. Minnesota cannot afford to nominate a ticket that gives Democrats an easy target.” Lindell reportedly owed tens of thousands of dollars in property tax debts in Minnesota—which he says he’s now paid—and wasn't registered to vote in the state until this week.

While Lindell’s chances of winning the primary are high, analysts and the local Republican party believe he stands little chance of challenging likely Democratic nominee Amy Klobuchar in November’s general election. And the standoff over Lindell’s endorsement highlights a challenge for local Republican parties whose picks are at odds with Trump, whom they cannot afford to anger. The White House did not respond to a request for comment about Plechash’s statement.

“I'd like to think this was as simple as the party saying they don't want Lindell, but they can't say that in a way that pisses off the president,” Blois Olson, a Minnesota political analyst, tells WIRED. “That's the reality because they don't just piss off the president, they piss off the most fervent Trump supporters, the MAGA Minnesotans, who they need in November. It's threading a needle, which makes it a big challenge.”

Lindell rose to prominence on the national political stage in the wake of the 2020 election when he became one of the most vocal proponents and funders of the baseless conspiracy theory that the vote had been stolen from Trump. Over the course of the next few years, Lindell funded activist groups, hosted conferences and produced a film, all claiming election fraud. By 2022, Lindell said he had spent $40 million of his own money on the cause.

Lindell was also sued by voting machine companies Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic for defamation over claims their machines were rigged. While the Dominion lawsuit ultimately ended with a settlement agreement (with both parties paying their own fees), the Smartmatic lawsuit is ongoing. Lindell’s legal costs ran into the millions.

Rather than being welcomed by the local party, Lindell says the Minnesota GOP has done everything it can to stop his campaign, including failing to provide him with a list of delegates and blocking him from attending debates and forums. Lindell says he’s not sure why exactly the Minnesota Republican Party is doing this.

“I can only speculate,” Lindell tells WIRED. “Because of the fraud in Minnesota, they think that maybe after 24 years they could possibly win, but that's not what the polls are saying. They're just afraid because I'm friends with Donald Trump? I don't know why they're attacking me, it's just kind of crazy, but that's their choice. The Minnesota GOP should be ashamed of themselves.”

In May, GOP delegates picked Kendall Qualls, a former health care executive, as their nominee, with Lindell finishing third behind Minnesota House speaker Lisa Demuth. The Minnesota GOP said in a statement to WIRED that Lindell’s campaign refused “to abide by the endorsement and because of that was not given certain resources. This was true for every campaign that chose to not abide by the party endorsement. His campaign was aware of that when they made the decision.”

While the Minnesota GOP is mandated to support the candidate picked by its delegates, Olson thinks this is only part of the reason why the party came out with such a strong statement attacking Lindell following his endorsement by the president.

“Republicans are going to be demoralized if Lindell’s the nominee, because they know his chances of winning in November are low, and then the party could have losses down the ballot throughout the state if Lindell underperforms,” says Olson.

Lindell says the attacks against him continue, referencing recent media stories about his taxes and the fact he wasn’t registered to vote in Minnesota. While he wasn’t previously, Lindell has now registered to vote in the state. He has also said that he has now paid off the almost $48,000 in property taxes he owed on his home in Tonka Bay.

Olson says that Republicans in Minnesota believe they have a chance of winning statewide races in Minnesota for the first time in 20 years because of claims of alleged fraud in the state and the perception that current governor Tim Walz is underperforming. But Lindell, even with Trump’s endorsement, might make that victory an uphill battle.