President Trump is throwing his weight behind one of his most loyal defenders in a race that could flip Minnesota's governor's office. In a Truth Social post Wednesday, Trump endorsed MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, praising the "Pillow Man" as a top "patriot" and staunch ally on "election integrity" ahead of the state's Aug. 11 Republican primary, the Guardian reports. Lindell, who announced his run for governor in December, has long been an outspoken Trump supporter and has backed the president's discredited claims that widespread fraud led to his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 election, reports the AP.
Lindell faces a crowded GOP field that includes party-endorsed Kendall Qualls, state House Speaker Lisa Demuth, 2022 nominee Scott Jensen, and others. The race is open because Democratic Gov. Tim Walz isn't seeking a third term. But early polling is rough for Lindell: a June poll showed Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the Democratic frontrunner, leading him 53% to 36% in a hypothetical matchup. She had a smaller lead against other GOP contenders. The poll found that Lindell had higher name recognition than other Republican candidates, at around 80%, but just over half of those who had heard of him had an unfavorable opinion, KARE 11 reports. Some 19% of poll respondents had a favorable opinion of him, with others undecided.
Lindell tells the Minnesota Star Tribune that he believes the endorsement, which he didn't know was coming Wednesday, will give him the edge in the primary. "My mind is just rolling because I'm so excited," he says. In another Truth Social post on Wednesday, Trump blasted Klobuchar as "incompetent" and "corrupt," adding: "If the Elections in Minnesota weren't RIGGED, any Republican could win, but they were, and that is why nobody has won there since Richard Nixon many years ago." Nixon won the state in 1972. In 1984, it was the only state won by Democratic nominee Walter Mondale, a Minnesota native.
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