St. Paul, Minnesota — MyPillow founder Mike Lindell is paying for a statewide recount of Minnesota’s Republican gubernatorial primary after losing by more than 45,000 votes to state House Speaker Lisa Demuth.
Lindell, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, finished about 11 percentage points behind Demuth in the Aug. 11 primary. Minnesota law provides taxpayer-funded recounts only when candidates are separated by less than 0.25 percentage points, but candidates outside that margin may request and finance their own recount. The Minnesota Star Tribune reported the effort could cost Lindell roughly $825,000.
Lindell said Tuesday that he wants every paper ballot hand-counted and audited. He cited election-night results that temporarily decreased and vote percentages that remained relatively stable as returns arrived. However, state election officials have reported no evidence of fraud or irregularities that would call Demuth’s victory into question.
Demuth won about 44% of Republican votes, while Lindell received roughly one-third. She performed particularly well around the Twin Cities metropolitan area and the Minnesota River Valley, while Lindell led in portions of northern Minnesota.
Lindell has spent years promoting disproven claims that voting machines helped steal the 2020 presidential election from Trump.
Demuth will face Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar in November’s general election.
Sources
Discover more from News Facts Network
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
