Mike Lindell challenges Minnesota GOP primary loss as state Supreme Court rejects recount bid

Mike Lindell, the MyPillow founder and prominent supporter of Donald Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election, is challenging the result of his own Republican primary defeat in Minnesota.

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Saturday rejected Lindell’s request for a broader recount of the Aug. 11 GOP primary for governor, leaving state House Speaker Lisa Demuth as the Republican nominee for the November general election, according to NBC News.

Demuth defeated Lindell by roughly 45,000 votes in a seven-candidate Republican field.

Minnesota Supreme Court rejects Lindell’s recount argument

Chief Justice Natalie E. Hudson said the recount process approved by Minnesota election officials complies with state law and that Lindell had not shown that the secretary of state’s office or the State Canvassing Board had committed a wrongful act or error.

Lindell had argued that he deserved a much broader review of the gubernatorial primary ballots.

According to NBC News, he wanted election officials to examine ballots cast across both the Democratic and Republican contests and record votes for every candidate. He also questioned whether electronic voting machines could have produced unexplained “anomalies” in the results.

But Hudson drew a distinction between a manual recount and an election contest.

The chief justice wrote that Lindell’s concerns about potential irregularities did not change the legal purpose of the recount.

Why Lindell objected to the recount plan

Lindell had initially agreed to cover an estimated $825,000 cost for a hand recount and audit, according to NBC News.

He later refused to provide the payment after learning that the approved recount would focus on the votes relevant to determining whether he or Demuth won the Republican primary.

Lindell subsequently sued Minnesota’s secretary of state and the State Canvassing Board, accusing officials of pulling what he described as a “bait-and-switch.”

State election officials rejected that characterization.

The secretary of state’s office said the recount plan was provided to Lindell after the canvassing board approved it on Aug. 18. Officials said the process follows Minnesota law and administrative rules and is consistent with recount procedures used in previous elections, NBC News reported.

What the recount would actually examine

The Supreme Court ruling said the approved procedure would not simply ignore ballots cast for other Republican candidates.

Instead, election workers would first separate ballots from the Democratic and Republican primaries. Republican ballots would then be divided into three groups: ballots for Lindell, ballots for Demuth and ballots for the remaining candidates.

All of those ballots would be counted and remain subject to challenges during the process, Hudson wrote.

The arrangement would therefore allow Lindell to determine whether he had actually defeated Demuth without conducting the broader recount he requested.

Lindell says he plans to appeal to U.S. Supreme Court

Despite the Minnesota Supreme Court ruling, Lindell told NBC News on Saturday that he intends to take the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court.

He also said his team is seeking election data from all 87 Minnesota counties through Freedom of Information Act requests as part of what he described as an independent investigation.

“I’m willing to pay even more money. I don’t care what it costs,” Lindell told NBC News.

Lindell has maintained that a complete hand recount is necessary to investigate what he believes are irregularities involving electronic voting machines.

Demuth moves forward to face Amy Klobuchar

The court's decision strengthens Demuth’s position as the Republican candidate for governor in the general election.

She is set to face Democratic nominee and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

For Lindell, the Minnesota dispute represents a continuation of his long-running challenges to election results and voting technology.

Lindell’s history of election-related claims

Lindell became one of Trump’s most outspoken allies in promoting allegations that voting machines were manipulated during the 2020 presidential election. Those claims have been repeatedly debunked.

His election-related statements have also resulted in legal battles.

According to NBC News, a jury found in June 2025 that Lindell had defamed a former employee of Dominion Voting Systems. Lindell has denied the allegations.

He is also involved in a separate defamation dispute with Smartmatic USA Corp. The company obtained sanctions against him totaling $56,369, which Lindell has refused to pay, NBC News reported.

Because the sanctions remain unpaid, additional court fees have increased the amount Lindell owes.

Lindell told NBC News earlier this month that he does not intend to pay either the sanctions or the additional fees.

His latest legal challenge in Minnesota now puts his own election defeat under scrutiny—after years of arguing that other election results should not be accepted without further investigation.