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Lindell Loses GOP Primary
Mike Lindell lost to Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth in Tuesday’s GOP gubernatorial primary for the state, while Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar secured her party’s nomination, the Associated Press called the Demuth race at 11:26 p.m. ET with Demuth at 43.6% of the 93% of votes counted.
“The Associated Press called the race for Demuth at 11:26 p.m. ET”
Forbes reported that Lindell, backed by President Donald Trump, came a distant second with 32.3%% of the votes, and Kendall Qualls placed third with 21.4% of the vote.
Forbes also said Klobuchar won the Democratic primary with 89.6% of the votes, and that polls show her with a wide lead in the general election.
Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday that Lindell “deserves a BIG WIN IN MINNESOTA today,” adding “Nobody has worked harder, and given up so much, in fighting for free and fair Elections.”
Demuth Advances to Fall
NBC News projected that Demuth and Lindell were the leading names in the Republican primary for governor, with the Associated Press providing vote data and NBC News Decision Desk projections used for results.
CBS News projected that Lisa Demuth would win the GOP primary in Minnesota’s gubernatorial race and face Amy Klobuchar in the Nov. 3 general election, after Demuth stayed in the race citing irregularities in the convention voting process.
NPR reported that Demuth, 59, would advance to run in the fall against Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and that Demuth said she was the Republican best equipped to snap a more than two-decade losing streak for her party in governors races.
NPR also described how Demuth’s campaign focused on fraud in state government programs, while Walz opted not to run for a third term and said he would focus on tackling fraud in state programs in his time left in office.
Fraud, Endorsements, and Stakes
The Washington Post said the contest revealed deep fissures in Minnesota’s Republican Party, noting that a Republican has not been governor since Tim Pawlenty served from 2003 to 2011 and that Demuth defeated Lindell, Trump’s preferred pick.
“A Republican has not been governor since Tim Pawlenty”
The New York Times reported that Demuth beat Mike Lindell, the MyPillow founder endorsed by President Trump, and said the party’s pick Kendall Qualls lagged a distant third in polls.
NPR said much of the attention in the primary focused on Lindell, including that he received the president’s endorsement in the race last month and faced questions from Republican leaders about residency and his business record.
In the fall matchup, CBS News said Demuth would face Amy Klobuchar on Nov. 3, while Forbes reported Klobuchar’s Democratic nomination came with a wide lead in the general election.