US Politics
MyPillow CEO and Trump ally Mike Lindell toys with potential run for Minnesota governor
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Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow and staunch ally of President Donald Trump, says he is toying with the idea of running for Governor of Minnesota.
“We’re about 99 percent there,” Lindell toldThe Minnesota Star Tribune, when asked about a possible run. “I love the state, I love the country and if I’m the only one that can win, that would be a shame if that opportunity slipped by.”
The businessman is one of the most vocal and zealous supporters of the president, who has pushed baseless conspiracy theories that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen.” Such fervor has cost him – having once been worth roughly $60 million, he is now roughly $10 million in debt, The Associated Press reported in June.
Lindell’s potential gubernatorial run in Minnesota comes despite the businessman having been living, up until recently, in Texas, as well as having been a registered voter there since 2023.
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Candidates running for state governor must have lived in the state for more than a year to enter the race and Lindell acknowledged he would need to reestablish his residency before launching his campaign officially.
If he were to run for the position in 2026, Lindell would be vying for the Republican nomination against multiple candidates who are looking to take on current Governor and former vice presidential nominee, Tim Walz – who recently announced his intention to seek a third term.
Reacting to news of Lindell’s potential run, Walz wrote on X: “Donald Trump’s pick for Governor of Minnesota? Mike Lindell. Join our campaign and make sure Trump and Lindell never get their hands on Minnesota.”
Despite his zealous support of Trump in the past, and encouragement from the president to run for governor previously in 2022, Lindell said that he has not yet discussed a potential run with him this time around.
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“What I discuss with the president all the time is getting rid of the electronic voting machines, securing our elections,” he told The Star Tribune.
Lindell said that he would be committed to running on a platform of “secure elections” and “common sense,” should he launch a campaign.
Along with other acolytes of the president, he made false claims against Dominion Voting Systems, alleging that the companies’ voting machines rigged the 2020 election in former President Joe Biden’s favor.
This included the defamation of Eric Coomer, a former security and product strategy director for Dominion, to which Lindell was ultimately forced to pay $2.3 million.
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Like Trump, the businessman has previously criticized Walz for his response to the 2020 riots in Minneapolis and has claimed Minnesota’s education system has worsened under his tenure.
But he acknowledged he must figure out how campaign finance rules and other promotions could affect his business.
“Because I have Lindell TV, I have my own network, because I’m the face of MyPillow, what I can and can’t do,” he told The Star Tribune. “Can I still be the face of MyPillow on the commercials? We don’t know.”
“If you see this guy every day in a commercial … is that unfair advertising? I don’t know that.”