MyPillow Founder Clings to Election Denial, Offers $1 Million for Recount After Losing Minnesota GOP Governor Primary
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Mike Lindell, notorious for spreading baseless conspiracy theories about elections, now pledges up to $1 million for a hand recount after losing the Minnesota Republican gubernatorial primary to Lisa Demuth. Lindell, who has a history of promoting falsehoods about voting machines, continues to undermine trust in democracy with his latest stunt.
Mike Lindell, the founder of MyPillow and a former Trump-backed candidate infamous for fueling election denial, has announced he is prepared to spend over $1 million for a full hand recount of Minnesota’s Republican primary for governor—a race he lost by a decisive 11 percentage points to state House Speaker Lisa Demuth. In a phone interview, Lindell revealed he has already hired a team to dig into the primary results and has requested a cost estimate from the Minnesota secretary of state’s office. Lauren Bethke, the office’s general counsel, responded that a full recount and audit would cost about $825,000. Lindell, undeterred by the clear margin of his defeat, expects the total to exceed $1 million when factoring in his so-called investigative team, and says he will personally deliver the official recount request on Monday.
The secretary of state’s office has yet to receive a formal request; Bethke’s letter made clear that any such request must be accompanied by a bond, cash, or surety for the estimated cost by the following Monday. Lindell, continuing his pattern of sowing distrust, said he will also arrange for observers at every county’s recount site.
In a news release, Lindell claimed his team found “irregularities” in the election data, predictably blaming electronic voting machines—an unfounded narrative he has pushed for years. He has previously been sued for spreading lies about the 2020 election, including a federal judgment ordering him to pay Smartmatic USA Corp. $56,369 in damages and daily fines for non-payment. Lindell’s attorneys are now asking a district judge to reconsider that ruling, citing newly released documents that, unsurprisingly, do not show any evidence of widespread fraud. Lindell insists he will continue to challenge the ruling, regardless of the facts or outcome.