Minnesota Supreme Court denies Mike Lindell's request for gubernatorial primary recount

The Minnesota Supreme Court rejected Mike Lindell's request for a full recount of the GOP gubernatorial primary on August 29, 2026. Lindell lost to state House Speaker Lisa Demuth by 45,000 votes in the primary held on August 11. Chief Justice Natalie E. Hudson stated in a six-page ruling that the recount plan provided by the Minnesota secretary of state’s office and its State Canvassing Board was lawful and did not involve any wrongful acts or errors as claimed by Lindell. Lindell announced plans to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court and is seeking election data from all 87 counties under the Freedom of Information Act for an independent investigation. He previously pledged $825,000 for a hand recount and audit but did not pay by the state’s deadline after learning the recount would only count votes for Lindell and Demuth. Lindell's lawsuit claimed a “bait-and-switch” regarding the recount process. The secretary of state’s office stated that the recount plan was consistent with state law. Hudson noted that Lindell's request for a full recount of both Democratic and Republican primary races confused the purpose of a manual recount with an election contest. The ruling supports Demuth's victory, allowing her to proceed to the general election against Democratic nominee, Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Lindell has previously faced lawsuits over claims regarding the 2020 election and has been found to have defamed a former employee of Dominion Voting Systems. He also owes $56,369 in sanctions to Smartmatic USA Corp. but has stated he does not intend to pay.