Trump and the Republican Party Backed Competing Candidates in Minnesota’s Governor Primary. Both Fell Short

Demuth Wins Minnesota Republican Primary for Governor

Minnesota Speaker of the House Lisa Demuth won the Republican primary for governor on Tuesday, defeating candidates who had received the state party endorsement and public support from President Donald Trump. The Associated Press called the race shortly before midnight after Demuth held more than 43 percent of the vote compared with less than 33 percent for Mike Lindell, based on ballots counted at that time.

Demuth will face Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar in the November general election. The Cook Political Report currently rates the race as Solid Democrat.

Three candidates led the primary contest, reflecting different segments of the state Republican Party. Trump publicly endorsed Lindell in July. The state party endorsed businessman and Army veteran Kendall Qualls at its convention in May. Demuth competed without either endorsement.

Lindell, who has described himself as aligned with Trump on several policy matters, cited the endorsement in the final days of the campaign. At an event on Sunday, he stated that he could “call up and work with the President of the United States.” Lindell previously served as chief executive of MyPillow and has publicly disputed the certified results of the 2020 presidential election. He has been the subject of defamation litigation related to statements about voting equipment. In June 2025, a jury ordered him to pay $2.3 million to a Dominion Voting Systems executive. Lindell stepped down as MyPillow chief executive earlier this month to focus on the campaign. One of his proposals called for a state-level initiative modeled on the federal Department of Government Efficiency.

At the state convention, Lindell placed third in early rounds of voting and was eliminated before Qualls secured the required 60 percent threshold on the tenth ballot. Qualls, the first Black candidate to receive a major-party endorsement for governor in Minnesota, urged party unity after the endorsement vote. He referenced Abraham Lincoln’s 1858 speech and said Republicans would need to win as “a united Republican Party.”

Qualls has not held elected office. He previously ran for Minnesota’s third congressional district in 2020 and for governor in 2022. In the current campaign he advocated changes to state tax policy and the education system, stating that government could “do a lot more with less.”

Demuth, who has served as House Speaker in a chamber evenly divided between the two parties, emphasized her legislative record and ability to negotiate across party lines. In a June interview she said her experience positioned her to defeat Klobuchar. She described her policy approach as reflecting conservative values that also receive support from some non-Republican voters. Demuth is the first Black woman and the first Republican woman to serve as Minnesota House Speaker.

The three candidates overlapped on several fiscal and education issues but differed in their routes to the nomination and in their prior government experience. Tim Walz, the Democratic governor since 2019, had planned to seek a third term but withdrew in January during investigations into fraud in state welfare programs.

Minnesota has not elected a Republican governor since 2006 or a Republican U.S. senator since 2002. The state has supported the Democratic presidential nominee in every election since 1972.