MyPillow Founder and Trump Ally Mike Lindell Files To Run For Minnesota Governor
AP Photo/Adam Bettcher
MyPillow founder Mike Lindell filed paperwork to run for governor of Minnesota, though he is not “100%” yet on whether he will actually run.
Lindell spoke with the Minnesota Star Tribune on Wednesday, saying he “isn’t 100% yet” on whether he will actually run. He set a date to announce his final decision.
“I am going to announce either way on Dec. 11,” he said.
The Mike Lindell for Governor committee was registered with Michigan’s Campaign Finance Board on Wednesday.
Lindell is arguably best known in politics for his conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election. He released a film, Absolute Truth, pushing his claims that the election was rigged against President Donald Trump. A federal judge ruled in September that Lindell defamed Smartmatic, the company behind voting machines in the election. The judge deferred on the question of whether Lindell acted with “actual malice.”
Lindell has mentioned the possibility of a gubernatorial run in the past. He told Steve Bannon in October that he was considering challenging Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D).
Lindell said on Wednesday that he is 98% sure he’s running.
“His entrance into the race is a bitter pill-ow for Minnesota Republicans to swallow,” Democratic Governors Association spokesperson Izzi Levy said in a statement responding to Lindell’s announcement.
There are a number of other Republicans looking to challenge Walz in Minnesota, but Lindell’s close relationship to Trump could potentially land him an endorsement and a push to the front of the pack.
Lindell said he has done polling in Minnesota and he believes he is the only candidate who could beat Walz.
“I live here in Minnesota, everywhere I go, nobody wants Tim Walz,” he said on LindellTV in April. “They don’t. Even if you’re a Democrat, you think he’s a good Democrat governor? They don’t even like him for what he did these nonsensical things he did.”
This is a breaking story and it has been updated.
