MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, a controversial election denier and supporter of President Trump, has taken steps toward trying to become the governor of Minnesota in next year’s midterm elections.
State records show paperwork has been filed signaling Lindell may soon announce a statewide run.
Lindell told CBS News in a phone call that he has not 100% decided on a gubernatorial run but wanted to file paperwork in case he does commit. He said earlier this year that he would run as a Republican. He said he will further discuss his potential run at a press conference scheduled for next week.
Lindell has been at the center of a number of legal battles in the wake of the 2020 presidential election. Earlier this year, a federal judge ruled that Lindell defamed the election technology company Smartmatic with false statements that its voting machines helped rig the 2020 presidential election.
Lindell made similar claims against Dominion Voting Systems. He lost a case involving the Denver-based company in June when a jury ruled that he defamed a former Dominion employee by accusing him of treason. The jury awarded $2.3 million in damages.
Minnesota Republicans have a lengthy losing streak in statewide races. In addition to Democratic Gov. Tim Walz going for what would be a third consecutive term in the role, the state House Republican speaker has already announced a run for governor, as well as the GOP candidate who lost to Walz in the 2022 midterms.
Earlier this year, when speculating about his political futures, Lindell said, “We are doing our due-diligence and so far things are looking very good! … I will certainly be adding securing our elections to my platform! We polled Minnesota and ‘secure our elections’ was the #3 concern!”
Lindell’s MyPillow is headquartered in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Hunter Woodall and
Jacob Rosen
contributed to this report.
