Walz is hoping to eke out another a term. But his chances are dwindling day by day.
And now Tim Walz just got blindsided by a challenger straight out of left field.
Lindell Takes First Step Toward Challenging Walz in 2026
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, one of former President Trump’s most recognizable allies, filed paperwork Wednesday with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Disclosure Board to create a gubernatorial campaign committee.
The 64-year-old told Minnesota Public Radio he is “98% sure” he will run and plans to make his decision official at a news conference on December 11 in the Twin Cities.
A Dozen Republicans Already in the Race
Lindell enters an unusually crowded GOP primary field. Announced candidates include physician Scott Jensen (the 2022 nominee), Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, state Rep. Kristin Robbins, attorney Chris Madel, former Vikings player and businessman Kendall Qualls, and several others. Party activists expect more names before the March filing deadline.
“If there was someone to win, it would be me,” Lindell told the Minnesota Star Tribune, citing his statewide name recognition and years of media appearances.
Governor Tim Walz, the two-term Democrat who spent much of 2024 on the national stage as Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate, has already launched his reelection campaign and is widely expected to seek a third term.
Democrats Fire Back Immediately
Within hours of Lindell’s filing, the Democratic Governors Association labeled him a “sleazy businessman” whose candidacy turns the Republican contest into “a more chaotic and dangerous race to the far-right by the day.”
Spokesperson Izzi Levy quipped that Lindell’s entry is “a bitter pill-ow for Minnesota Republicans to swallow.”
Minnesota DFL Chair Richard Carlbom told reporters that Lindell “represents exactly what today’s Republican Party has become: conspiratorial, extremist, and weird.”
Lindell has spent the past four years promoting unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election, resulting in multiple defamation lawsuits, including a $1.3 billion case from Dominion Voting Systems that remains active.
During an April court hearing he told a federal judge the legal fights have left him “in ruins” financially.
Despite the setbacks, Lindell said election integrity will be a centerpiece of any campaign. “We polled Minnesota and ’secure our elections’ was the #3 concern!” he posted earlier this year.
Whether Lindell ultimately jumps in or not, his flirtation with the race guarantees the 2026 governor’s contest will draw national attention from the start.
