The MyPillow guy is running for governor of Minnesota

SHAKOPEE — Mike Lindell, the MyPillow guy and prominent right-wing conspiracy theorist who has spent millions of dollars promoting baseless claims about widespread election fraud, is running for Minnesota governor.

Lindell announced his run Thursday in his Shakopee factory, shouting to be heard over the din of machines that continue churning out his signature lumpy pillows despite years of financial challenges brought on by defamation lawsuits and lost sales from retailers fleeing association with him.

“MyPillow is still standing, and now I want you to know that I will stand for you as the next governor of Minnesota,” Lindell said.

Lindell was speaking to an iPhone broadcasting to LindellTV and Steve Bannon’s War Room, with the fellow right-wing influencer and former Trump advisor interviewing him about his campaign.

Lindell enters a crowded field of GOP candidates who believe they’re best able to beat Gov. Tim Walz, who is running for a third term next year.

Other Republicans running for governor include Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth; state Rep. Kristin Robbins; 2022 GOP nominee for governor Scott Jensen; Kendall Qualls, an army veteran and health care executive; and attorney Chris Madel.

Lindell stands out for being the most loyal and closest candidate to President Donald Trump, having once carried notes into the White House following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol that seemed to show plans for Trump to stay in power through military force. (Walmart, Kohl’s, J.C. Penney, Wayfair, Bed Bath & Beyond and other companies pulled MyPillow products shortly after.)

While Lindell’s national celebrity in the MAGA movement and Trump ties may make him a serious contender in the Minnesota GOP endorsement process, his chaotic nature and relentless fixation on conspiracy theories are sure to repel mainstream Republicans and swing voters if he makes it to the general election.

Mike Lindell cheers as President Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a 2018 campaign rally in Fargo, North Dakota. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Minnesota Republican primary voters tend to follow the party’s convention endorsement, wherein hundreds of hardcore activists — often the most ideologically dogmatic — decide the candidates’ fate.

During one of the commercial breaks of his campaign announcement, Lindell asked an employee if “the bus” was outside. Lindell then snatched the iPhone and its stand and ran through his factory and into the cold.

He set the phone in front of his new campaign bus emblazoned in red, white and blue and a photo of himself holding an American flag and a copy of the U.S. Constitution. The bus was in the background when the show returned from its commercial break.

Bannon on Thursday praised Lindell for how well he runs his company. Because of that, Lindell was the “best opponent that somebody could field against Walz,” Bannon said.

Lindell wrapped up the live broadcast in front of the bus, which has Utah plates. He then went back inside to answer questions from three local reporters — apparently only those who called his personal cell phone ahead of time to get details on the announcement. One of his reporters with LindellTV was also there.

Lindell said he spoke to Trump in August about his run for Minnesota governor. He said the president “didn’t react either way,” and that he didn’t know if Trump would endorse him. “It would be his decision,” Lindell said.

Lindell then went into a long diatribe about the nation’s elections. He said Minnesota needs to get rid of its voter machines and only count votes by hand.

“When running for governor here in Minnesota, I will have access — I don’t know how much, where to make sure that our elections are secure — these voting machines, but they’re not,” Lindell said.

He criticized the media for not reporting on election fraud, and said that the conservative networks Fox News and Newsmax were “the worst outlets in the world” for not doing anything about election fraud. (Fox News paid Dominion Voting Systems nearly $800 million to settle a lawsuit over broadcasting false claims about the 2020 election.)

Mike Lindell prepares to film a video at the My Pillow factory and outlet in Shakopee, Minnesota Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer) As governor, Lindell said he would run the state like a business, which would eliminate the fraud in Minnesota public programs that has been dominating the news nationwide. He also said he has a solution for “the box stores” and empty malls that are losing sales to online retailers and a plan for education “based on past experience.” Lindell declined to elaborate on his plans for now.

Rudy Giuliani, the former New York Mayor and personal lawyer for Trump who was disbarred in New York and Washington, D.C. for his role attempting to undermine the 2020 presidential election, will be an advisor to the Lindell campaign. Giuliani also has a show on LindellTV.

Asked if he will self-fund his campaign for governor, Lindell said no.

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Nicole Neri via Minnesota Reformer

“Absolutely not. I can’t self-fund. I don’t have any money left,” Lindell said.

Lindell says he’s spent millions defending his theory that the 2020 election was stolen, which has made him broke.

In June, a federal jury found that Lindell defamed a former Dominion Voting Systems employee and was ordered to pay $2.3 million, pending appeal.

Then in September, a federal judge ruled that Lindell defamed voting machine company Smartmatic with his attacks on the outcome of the 2020 election. The company is seeking $1.5 billion in damages, which will be decided by a jury.

During the defamation lawsuit brought by a Dominion Voting Systems employee over the summer, Lindell in court testimony said he was $10 million in debt.

Lindell — a self-described former “crackhead” — has a powerful redemption story, having suffered from addiction to cocaine for decades. He says he once spent 14 days awake on cocaine before his drug dealers staged an intervention.

His first campaign event, Lindell said, will be on Saturday at the Minnesota Republican Party’s State Central Committee meeting where delegates will conduct a straw poll. The results aren’t usually broadcast, but Lindell said he would post the results.

Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Minnesota Reformer maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor J. Patrick Coolican for questions: info@minnesotareformer.com.