Residency question hangs over Lindell’s campaign

President Donald Trump endorsed MyPillow founder Mike Lindell for Minnesota governor on Wednesday, praising him as “one of America’s greatest and most hard working Patriots” in a Truth Social post. Trump referenced Lindell’s promotion of claims about the 2020 election, saying Lindell has “sacrificed” more than almost anyone else “in fighting for our country, especially when it comes to Election Integrity,” and wrote that Lindell “will MAKE MINNESOTA GREAT AGAIN.”

The endorsement gives Lindell Trump’s backing ahead of the state’s Aug. 11 Republican primary, where early voting is already underway. Lindell trails in general election polling. A June survey by the Star Tribune, KARE 11, and the Hubbard School found Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar leading Lindell 53% to 36%, with 11% undecided — her strongest showing against any of the Republican contenders tested.

The same poll found Klobuchar leading other GOP candidates: 48% to 37% against Kendall Qualls, who won the Republican Party’s endorsement in May, and 48% to 40% against state House Speaker Lisa Demuth. The Republican primary ballot also includes 2022 nominee Scott Jensen and state Rep. Peggy Bennett, among others. Klobuchar, who entered the race in January, is the Democratic frontrunner.

A residency question hangs over Lindell’s campaign. Lindell, who was born in Minnesota and built MyPillow into a manufacturing company there, spent several years registered to vote in Texas before describing himself in a court filing last year as “a Texas citizen,” according to the Guardian. He has since told reporters he has re-established residency in Minnesota and will meet the state’s requirement that gubernatorial candidates live in the state for at least a year before the general election.

The governor’s race is open because Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor incumbent and 2024 Democratic vice-presidential nominee, opted not to seek a third term. In his last election in 2022, Walz defeated Republican Scott Jensen by 7.7 percentage points.

The general election is scheduled for Nov. 3.