RismadarVoice Reporters, August 30, 2026
The Minnesota Supreme Court has rejected a request by MyPillow founder Mike Lindell for a full recount of the Republican primary election for governor.
Lindell lost the August 11 Republican primary to state House Speaker Lisa Demuth by about 45,000 votes but challenged the proposed recount process, arguing that all ballots in the seven-candidate race should be manually recounted.
In a six-page ruling issued on Saturday, Chief Justice Natalie E. Hudson said the recount plan approved by Minnesota’s State Canvassing Board complies with state law and that election officials had not committed any wrongful act, omission or error as alleged by Lindell.
Lindell had previously offered to pay an estimated $825,000 for a full hand recount and audit of the election. However, he withdrew the payment after learning that the approved recount would focus on ballots cast for either himself or Demuth.
He subsequently sued the Minnesota secretary of state’s office and the State Canvassing Board, accusing officials of a “bait-and-switch” by excluding votes cast for other Republican candidates.
The court rejected that argument, explaining that a manual recount is intended to determine whether the reported vote totals are accurate, rather than investigate broader allegations of election irregularities.
Under the approved recount plan, ballots will first be separated into Democratic and Republican primary ballots. The Republican ballots will then be divided into three groups: votes for Lindell, votes for Demuth and votes for other candidates.
Hudson said all ballots would be counted and remain subject to challenges during the recount.
The ruling effectively upholds Demuth’s Republican primary victory and her place in the November general election against Democratic nominee Senator Amy Klobuchar.
Lindell, a longtime promoter of false claims that the 2020 U.S. presidential election was rigged, said he plans to appeal the Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
He also said his team was seeking election data from all 87 Minnesota counties through the Freedom of Information Act to conduct an independent review.
“I’m willing to pay even more money. I don’t care what it costs,” Lindell said.
Lindell has previously faced legal consequences over his claims about election technology. In June 2025, he was found liable for defaming a former employee of Dominion Voting Systems. He has also been ordered to pay sanctions to voting technology company Smartmatic USA Corp., which he has refused to pay.
