President Donald Trump has endorsed MyPillow founder Mike Lindell for Minnesota governor, praising him as “one of America’s greatest and most hard working Patriots” and giving formal backing to a fellow election denier a day before the Republican president delivers a national address he says will focus on election security.
Lindell established his national profile from his TV advertising campaign as the MyPillow Guy and has been one of Trump’s most outspoken supporters, echoing the president’s false claims that his 2020 election defeat to Democrat Joe Biden was fraudulent.
“Mike will be SPECTACULAR!!! He truly loves Minnesota, as do I, and wants to bring it back from oblivion and embarrassment. He can do it!” Trump posted Wednesday on his Truth Social platform, referring to Lindell as “the ‘Pillow Man.’”
Lindell, who faces a crowded Republican field in an Aug. 11 primary, featured the endorsement on social media and thanked the president. “I truly appreciate your confidence in me,” he wrote, adding, “Let's Make Minnesota Great Again!”
Trump has hammered outgoing Gov. Tim Walz, Democrats’ 2024 vice presidential nominee, as incompetent and accused his administration of allowing rampant fraud in federal spending on childcare. Trump has employed racist rhetoric to target Minnesota’s Somali immigrant population as driving the alleged fraud.
Walz, who ended his bid for a third term earlier this year, disputes the Trump administration’s characterizations. There are ongoing investigations into the state's administration of federally supported childcare programs in the state.
Other Republicans avoid criticizing Trump's choice
Lindell's primary opponents include state House Speaker Lisa Demuth and businessman Kendall Qualls, who has the endorsement of the Minnesota state GOP. Lindell has attacked Demuth as responsible for federal spending fraud. Demuth has blamed the Democratic administration and executive agency leaders that oversee federal grants to childcare providers.
Later Wednesday, Demuth posted on social media a clip of a caller to a Minnesota politics talk radio show who was both supportive of Trump as president but said: “We've got to worry about the state of Minnesota. ... And I think of all the candidates, Lisa's got the most knowledge of what's going on and how to get things done.”
Qualls addressed supporters in a social media video. “President Trump is exactly what our country needed over the last decade and I’m proud to have supported him since day one," he said. “I’ll continue to support him and his America First policies when I am governor.”
Lindell and Trump “have been friends for years,” Qualls added. “This race won't be won by national endorsements. It will be decided by Minnesota conservatives.”
Longtime U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar headlines the Democratic field.
There are 36 gubernatorial elections this November. There currently are 26 Republican governors and 24 Democratic governors, and Republicans view Minnesota as an opportunity to flip a seat despite a challenging national environment because of Trump’s lagging popularity and voters’ discontent over the economy.
Klobuchar, in her initial campaign announcement, focused on the Trump administration's immigration crackdown that involved federal officers killing two Minnesotans, the assassination of a state legislative leader and a school shooting that killed multiple children — all within the past year.
The senator has since proposed plans intended to address any fraud and inefficiencies in public spending and emphasized an earlier chapter of her career as a prosecutor.
“On Day 1, I will begin a top to bottom audit of our state government,” she said this spring. “That audit will look at state agencies to identify waste, fraud, and abuse.”
She also has sought to distance herself from Walz. “I don’t like the status quo. I wouldn’t be running for governor if I wanted to have things remain the same. I want to see change,” she said.
Trump revisits 2020 as he makes endorsements
As Trump has made endorsements in Republican primaries this year, the president has remained fixated on his lies about the 2020 election. In Georgia, recently, he made a late endorsement in a hotly contested U.S. Senate primary for Rep. Mike Collins, noting the congressman's stalwart support and referencing passing comments made by his opponent, former football coach Derek Dooley, affirming that Biden was legitimately elected in 2020.
Trump has had a mixed record in gubernatorial primaries.
In Georgia, Trump's pick, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, could not overcome billionaire healthcare tycoon Rick Jackson, who spent more than $100 million, mostly from his own fortune, to win the Republican nomination. In Iowa, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra failed in his bid for the GOP nomination, losing to businessman Zach Lahn.
After those losses and ahead of the South Carolina primary runoff, Trump announced that he was endorsing both Republican candidates, state Attorney General Alan Wilson and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, after initially having given Evette his backing. Wilson ultimately prevailed.
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