MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell filed paperwork Wednesday to run for Minnesota governor.
While the paperwork doesn’t certainly mean he is running, Lindell said he is 98% sure he is. The CEO filed with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Disclosure Board to run as a Republican against Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN).
He told Minnesota Public Radio that he would make a decision as early as Dec. 11.
Lindell is a conservative personality also known for his efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 election. He owns Lindell TV, which has Pentagon press credentials alongside other conservative outlets and influencers.
A judge ruled in September that the MyPillow CEO defamed voting machine company Smartmatic for his claims that the machines “rigged” the 2020 election. He supported President Donald Trump against former President Joe Biden then.
The pillow merchant joins a menagerie of Republicans looking to unseat Walz, a popular target for Republicans after being chosen as then-Vice President Kamala Harris’s vice president pick in the 2024 election.
Walz has battled fraud accusations in recent weeks. Hundreds of Minnesota Department of Human Services employees said Walz is complicit in allowing fraud in the state.
“Tim Walz is 100% responsible for massive fraud in Minnesota,” a social media account for the employees said. “We let Tim Walz know of fraud early on, hoping for a partnership in stopping fraud, but no, we got the opposite response.”
Trump cited the accusations in calling Walz “seriously retarded” in a social media post. “The seriously retarded Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, does nothing, either through fear, incompetence, or both,” he wrote.
Minnesota House Speaker Lisa DeMuth, one of Lindell’s possible competitors, slammed the governor for the alleged fraud on Tuesday. “Gov. Walz says he welcomes help from the feds in cracking down on the fraud mess he created — but won’t comply with basic requests aimed at rooting out fraud,” she wrote on X. “What is there to hide?”
THESE ARE THE WALZ APPOINTEES WHO FAILED TO STOP RAMPANT MINNESOTA FRAUD
Democratic Governors Association spokeswoman Izzi Levy said Lindell’s entrance into the race is a “bitter pill-ow” for Minnesota Republicans to swallow.
“Mike Lindell is the latest extreme, out-of-touch candidate to jump into what is becoming a more chaotic and dangerous race to the far-right by the day — and his entrance into the race is a bitter pill for Minnesota Republicans to swallow,” Levy said.