Mike Lindell, a Republican candidate for Minnesota governor, flashes two thumbs up as he arrives to take part in a Minnesota Governor Candidate Forum in Morgan, Minn., Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026 (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt).
Minnesota’s top court on Saturday rejected Mike Lindell’s demand for a recount following his Republican gubernatorial primary loss, repeatedly stressing that the pillow mogul “fail[ed] on the merits” in claiming that officials committed “any wrongful act, omission, or error” by certifying the election results.
Chief Justice Natalie E. Hudson wrote that although Lindell’s challenge was not moot following the Aug. 18 certification of Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth as the primary’s winner by more than 45,000 votes, the MyPillow founder and staunch ally of President Donald Trump nonetheless fell well short.
The state’s high court said Lindell failed to show that state election officials did anything wrong under the law.
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“On the merits of Lindell’s section 204B.44 petition, however, we conclude that respondents are not committing any wrongful act, omission, or error by following—as the Secretary of State proposes—the procedures set forth in Minnesota Rules chapter 8235 and the Secretary of State Contingent Plan for Discretionary Recount approved by the Canvassing Board on August 18, 2026,” the order said. “Lindell argues that he is entitled to a full recount for both the Democratic and Republican primary races for governor ‘to ensure that there are no anomalies in the ballots, whether the votes cast are for the Democratic or Republican primaries,’ and that this recount must include ‘the recording of votes for every candidate.'”
“But Lindell’s focus on alleged anomalies confuses the purpose of a manual recount with an election contest,” Hudson explained.
In recent weeks, Lindell and his running mate Phillip C. Parrish filed a notice of contest and petition in lieu of paying the $825,000 required for a recount, protesting that only votes for him and Demuth would be the focus of a recount, without reference to the vote for “all other candidates.”
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Claiming that “anomalies” and “irregularities” were “serious and material” enough to question the reliability of the results, Lindell demanded an “inspection of the ballots.”
Hudson answered over the weekend that Lindell’s petition “fails on the merits.”
“Because the Secretary of State’s adherence to the Contingent Plan and recount procedures under Minn. R. ch. 8235 would provide a ‘determination of the number of votes validly cast for the office … to be recounted’ — here the Republican gubernatorial primary—Lindell’s section 204B.44 claim fails on the merits,” the order concluded.
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