MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a close ally of President Donald Trump who promoted debunked conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election, is considering running for governor in Minnesota.
Lindell told the Minnesota Star-Tribune in an interview published Friday that he's about "99% there" in making a decision about whether to launch a campaign for governor. Lindell also teased the idea of running for governor of the state in 2022 before ultimately deciding to stay out.
"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," Lindell added.
If he decides to run in 2026, Lindell would be jumping into a GOP primary that already has multiple candidates vying to face Democratic Gov. Tim Walz in the general election. Walz, who was his party's vice presidential nominee in 2024, is running for a third term.
Walz announced that he would seek re-election earlier this month. Republican state Rep. Kristin Robbins and Scott Jensen, the 2022 GOP nominee for governor, jumped into the race earlier this year.
In the years following the 2020 election, when Trump lost his re-election bid, Lindell was one of the most outspoken promoters of debunked conspiracy theories alleging that the election had been rife with voter fraud.
The 2020 Trump campaign lost multiple lawsuits in battleground states seeking to overturn the election results.
Earlier this year, a federal jury in Colorado found that Lindell had defamed a former employee of Dominion Voting Systems when Lindell publicly called him a traitor and accused him of stealing the election.
Lindell was also sued for defamation by Dominion and Smartmatic USA Corp. for baseless claims he made accusing them of rigging the election.
The Supreme Court in 2022 rejected Lindell's efforts to dismiss the suit brought by Dominion.
