Mike Lindell Says He’s Willing to Spend ‘Upwards of $1 Million’ on Recount After 11-Point Loss

AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File

Mike Lindell said he is prepared to spend $1 million seeking a recount of the Minnesota Republican gubernatorial primary he lost by 11 percentage points.

The MyPillow founder and longtime ally of President Donald Trump told NBC News on Wednesday that he intends to pay for a full hand recount of his Aug. 11 loss to Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth.

Lindell contacted the Minnesota secretary of state’s office after the election to find out what a statewide recount would cost. General counsel Lauren Bethke put the estimate at roughly $825,000 in a letter sent Tuesday, according to the outlet.

But Lindell expects his total expenses to climb even higher, telling NBC News the effort could cost “upwards of $1 million” once his own investigative team and other expenses are included.

The secretary of state’s office said it had yet to receive a formal recount request as of Wednesday. Lindell has until Monday to submit one along with “a bond, cash or surety” covering the estimated cost.

He told NBC News he plans to “personally go in there myself” on Monday to deliver the paperwork and intends to deploy observers to recount locations across the state.

Lindell, who was endorsed by Trump, refused to concede on election night as results showed Demuth headed toward a decisive victory.

“I’m down by 20,000 votes with 277,000 votes left to count,” Lindell said at the time. “Now, would you give up if you got 277,000 left to count?”

Lindell has since alleged his team uncovered “irregularities” in election data and tied his recount push to his longstanding crusade against electronic voting machines.

“Even if this recount and audit does not overturn my election for governor of Minnesota, I believe this is the gateway to getting rid of these electronic voting machines,” read his Tuesday press release.

Not to mention, Lindell has repeatedly promoted false claims about voting machines and the 2020 presidential election, leading to costly defamation litigation. In January, a federal judge ordered him to pay Smartmatic USA Corp. $56,369 in sanctions, with an additional $500-per-day fine imposed after he refused to pay.

According to NBC News, Lindell’s attorneys maintained Wednesday that he still has no intention of paying those fees, citing documents released by Trump after a July primetime address focused on baseless claims of voter fraud that, as the outlet notes, revealed no evidence to back up his assertions.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!