‘Anomalies in the numbers’: Mike Lindell trails by 20,000 votes with 95% counted, but he still won’t concede Minnesota’s primary

According to Mediaite, Mike Lindell, the CEO and founder of MyPillow, has not conceded Minnesota’s Republican primary for governor despite trailing state Rep. Lisa Demuth by a significant margin.

Demuth, who serves as speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives, secured a clear lead over Lindell as the votes were counted. With more than 95% of the expected vote in, Demuth held a 43% to 32% advantage over Lindell.

Lindell entered the primary with the backing of President Donald Trump, giving his campaign a high-profile endorsement heading into the election.

Lindell points to ballots still left to count

As votes were being counted Tuesday night, Lindell addressed his position in the race. “I’m down by 20,000 votes with 277,00 votes left to count,” Lindell said. He questioned why he would give up with that many votes still outstanding, noting that the remaining ballots were day-of votes that had not yet been counted, while mail-in and early votes had favored Demuth.

Kirsten Swanson, a reporter with KSTP TV in St. Paul, said Lindell would not concede the race. “Lindell will not concede,” Swanson said. “Claims there are anomalies in the numbers that his teams will be looking into overnight.”

Lindell entered the race centered on an election integrity platform, though questions were raised earlier in the campaign about his own voter registration status in Minnesota. He is a longtime supporter of Trump and has also denied the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, falsely claiming it was rigged against Trump.

In 2025, a jury found Lindell liable for defamation against Eric Coomer, a former employee of Dominion Voting Systems. Lindell, Trump, and others had falsely claimed that Dominion helped rig the 2020 election for Joe Biden. Lindell was ordered to pay Coomer $2.3 million in damages.

Hours before the primary results were finalized, Trump posted his support for Lindell on Truth Social. “Mike Lindell deserves a BIG WIN IN MINNESOTA today,” Trump wrote. “Nobody has worked harder, and given up so much, in fighting for free and fair Elections. Go out, NOW, and VOTE for Mike Lindell for Governor. 

He will not let you down.” Lindell’s primary loss follows a similar result earlier this year, when a Trump-backed congressman lost his primary in Iowa despite the president’s support.

Demuth will now face Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, in the general election. Klobuchar won Tuesday’s Democratic primary by a wide margin.