Mike Lindell is running for governor in Minnesota while not being registered to vote in the state. He officially entered the race on Wednesday, with an endorsement from President Donald Trump. His campaign is centered on election integrity.
Lindell is running in a crowded Republican primary that includes healthcare tech executive Kendall Qualls and Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth. He holds a small lead in the polls, though the race has not been polled in several weeks, and roughly a third of Republican voters remain undecided according to recent polling.
To run for governor in Minnesota, a candidate must be at least 25 years old, a resident of Minnesota for at least one year before the general election, and eligible to vote in the state, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website. Lindell moved back to Minnesota last fall, which means he has just barely met the one-year residency requirement.
Lindell’s voter registration is still active in Texas, not Minnesota
According to Mediaite, Cassondra Knudson, a spokesperson for the Minnesota Secretary of State, confirmed that Lindell does not have an active record in Minnesota’s voter files. His active voter registration is instead on file in Texas. Because he has not registered in Minnesota, he cannot legally cast a ballot for himself in the August 11 primary.
However, state law only requires that a candidate be eligible to vote, not that they currently be registered. That means Lindell is still legally permitted to run for office despite not being registered in Minnesota.
When reached for comment, Lindell said he was not sure about his current Minnesota voter registration status and would check on it. He said, “obviously I’m going to vote,” and added that he would not vote in Texas because he is no longer a resident there and was “not going to vote twice.” Similar voter registration issues have recently led to federal court rulings against database systems used by states.
Lindell, who is 65 years old, was born and raised in Minnesota and attended the University of Minnesota before dropping out. He spent a period of time living in Texas before returning to Minnesota ahead of this campaign.
On the Democratic side, the race is largely uncontested. With incumbent Governor Tim Walz not seeking re-election, the field has cleared for Senator Amy Klobuchar, who has raised over $7 million. Her primary opponents have not previously held elected office and have each raised only a few thousand dollars by comparison. Similar ‘election integrity’ efforts were also announced by President Trump.
Published: Jul 18, 2026 02:00 pm