MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell files paperwork to challenge Walz for Minnesota governor: ‘I want to save my state’
Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow and a vocal supporter of President Trump, said Wednesday that he believes he is the most qualified person to “save” Minnesota, filing paperwork to run as a Republican for governor in 2026.
The businessman plans to make a formal announcement at his Minnesota pillow factory on Dec. 11.
“I’m 98%, but I can’t say 100%,” Lindell told The Post when asked if he would officially declare his candidacy, noting that his campaign manager encouraged him to file the paperwork even without complete certainty.
Lindell would enter a competitive GOP primary, with Minnesota state Rep. Kristin Robbins and Scott Jensen, who previously lost to Democratic Gov. Tim Walz in 2022, also expected to run. Walz, who previously ran as Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate in 2024, is seeking a third term in 2026.
“If I run, it’s going to be because I want to save my state, and I believe I’d be the best qualified of anyone to do it,” Lindell said.
Lindell, who built MyPillow into a multimillion-dollar business after overcoming an addiction to crack cocaine and later launching his own television network, criticized Walz’s leadership.
“I’ve lived in Minnesota my whole life, born and raised here, and what’s going on with the fraud and with our governor – it’s shameful,” he said.
Minnesota has faced multiple welfare fraud scandals in recent years, prompting investigations by the Treasury Department and the House Oversight Committee into Walz’s handling of taxpayer funds.
“It’s a shame that money was all earmarked for people who really needed help. It’s disgusting,” Lindell said. “I watched Minnesota go down, down, down under horrible leadership, and it’s one of those things, if nobody else can get it done, do it yourself. I don’t trust anyone else to get this done.”
Lindell said he expects to attract voters beyond traditional Republicans, noting his past work on addiction treatment in Minneapolis.
“I’ve lived the American dream, going from an addict in the streets to getting freed of all addictions by coming to Jesus Christ, then building a massive company, and then surviving being the most attacked company in history,” Lindell said. He referenced an incident in 2022 when the FBI seized his phone at a Hardee’s drive-thru as part of the Biden Justice Department’s Arctic Frost investigation.
Lindell has also been a prominent supporter of claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged. “I’m used to attacks. Do I think they’ll bring it to another level? I don’t know if there’s any higher level,” he said of potential political scrutiny.
He has not yet discussed the campaign with President Trump or sought an endorsement.
The Democratic Governors Association criticized Lindell’s potential candidacy.
“Mike Lindell is the latest extreme, out-of-touch candidate in what is becoming a more chaotic and dangerous race to the far-right,” DGA spokesperson Izzi Levy said. “His entrance is a bitter pill-ow for Minnesota Republicans to swallow. Lindell is a sleazy businessman who has praised Republicans’ health care cuts, pushed to ban abortion, bankrolled efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and even called 9/11 ‘a blessing in disguise.’ Minnesotans can rest assured we will oppose his extreme agenda in the governor’s office.”
About Post Author
