Mike Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow and a pugnacious supporter of President Donald Trump, has filed paperwork to run for governor of Minnesota.
Lindell’s campaign committee registered with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board on Wednesday, though he told Minnesota Public Radio that he has not officially jumped into the race.
“I’m 98% sure I’m going to,” Lindell, who will run as a Republican, told MPR.
Should he formally enter the race, Lindell will be up against a crowded primary field. There are at least a dozen Republicans who have signaled their intention to challenge Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, in next year’s election.
The 64-year-old Lindell first gained political prominence as a strident defender of Trump’s false allegations that the 2020 election was stolen. Lindell has been sued multiple times over his claims that the 2020 presidential race was rigged against Trump, and he has bemoaned his financial woes stemming from his various court battles. Yet he has continued to promote conspiracy theories about the election.
Earlier this year, a court ordered him to pay about $2.3 million in damages after he was found liable of defaming a former executive of Dominion Voting Systems. Dominion has separately sued Lindell for defamation; that case is ongoing.
A judge also ruled in September that Lindell defamed Smartmatic when he accused the company of rigging its voting machines in the 2020 election.
Last year, a federal judge ordered Lindell to pay $5 million to a man who debunked Lindell’s election interference claim, though an appeals court reversed that ruling in July. Despite his dearth of political experience, Lindell may enter the race for governor as the most prominent Republican candidate, and the prospect of his candidacy drew a quick response from the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. Minnesota DFL Chair Richard Carlbom criticized Lindell as a “fraudster” who “isn’t qualified to lead Minnesota.” “Mike Lindell represents exactly what today’s Republican Party has become: conspiratorial and extremist,” Carlbom said. “He’s an out-of-touch salesman running to turn Minnesota into his next failed business.”
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News. Recommended
