Mike Lindell lost Minnesota by 45,000 votes — now he’s willing to spend $825,000 to count them all by hand

BS BULLETIN

Mike Lindell says he’ll personally fund a statewide hand recount after losing Minnesota’s GOP gubernatorial primary to Lisa Demuth by 45,401 votes.
Minnesota estimates the recount will cost $825,021.93. Lindell must formally request it and provide the money or bond by Aug. 24.
Lindell alleges electronic reporting irregularities, but no official finding of fraud or irregularity has been made in the primary results.

Mike Lindell wants Minnesota to count them again.

Every last one.

By hand.

And unlike the usual post-election demand for somebody else to pay for an investigation, the MyPillow founder says he’s willing to write the check himself.

Lindell announced Wednesday that he intends to request a statewide hand recount and audit of every paper ballot cast in Minnesota’s Aug. 11 Republican gubernatorial primary, which he lost to state House Speaker Lisa Demuth by more than 45,000 votes.

Demuth received 179,683 votes, or 43.4%, while Lindell received 134,282, or 32.5%, according to FOX 9’s reporting of the certified totals.

That’s an approximately 11-point loss. In recount country, folks, that’s not exactly a photo finish. But Minnesota law provides a mechanism for a losing candidate to request a discretionary recount even when the margin isn’t close enough for taxpayers to pick up the tab. And Lindell intends to use it.

“One of the few good election laws Minnesota does have is that as a candidate, I have the right to completely audit and hand count every ballot in the state.”

He said he intends to exercise that right “to the full extent of the law.”

Here’s the catch: $825,021.93. Minnesota will conduct a taxpayer-funded recount when the margin falls within the state’s statutory threshold. Eleven points does not qualify. So Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon’s office sent Lindell’s campaign a price estimate: $825,021.93.

If Lindell wants the recount, his official request — along with cash, a bond or surety covering the estimated cost — must reach the Secretary of State’s office by Monday, Aug. 24. The state has already prepared a contingency plan. If Lindell posts the money, Minnesota Elections Director Paul Linnell would oversee the recount, with deputy officials supervising counting sites around the state. The proceedings would be open to the public and news media.

So this isn’t Mike and three guys with magnifying glasses setting up folding tables in a MyPillow warehouse. It would go through Minnesota’s official recount process.

Lindell says his campaign observed several irregularities in electronic election-night reporting. Among his claims: vote totals appeared to move backward; totals across all seven Republican candidates changed in unusually synchronized ways; and some counties allegedly appeared at points to report more votes than were cast.

The recount, if it happens, provides an opportunity to test at least the central question against the physical ballots. And that’s considerably more useful than arguing endlessly about election-night screenshots on the Internet.

Lindell says this is bigger than whether he becomes governor. Here’s the part of Lindell’s statement that explains why he’s willing to spend nearly a million dollars on a race he lost by 45,000 votes. He says this isn’t merely about overturning Demuth’s victory. It’s about voting machines.

“Even if this recount and audit does not overturn my election for governor of Minnesota, I believe this is the gateway to getting rid of these electronic voting machines.”

Lindell has spent years arguing that American elections should rely on hand-counted paper ballots rather than electronic tabulation.

The proposed Minnesota recount would effectively give him a statewide comparison between the official electronic tabulation and a subsequent hand count. That’s potentially useful evidence either way.

If the hand count uncovers significant discrepancies, Lindell will point to them. If the hand count essentially reproduces the certified result, his critics will have a very obvious answer to his claims about Minnesota’s machines. That’s what makes this particular episode different from a generalized allegation.

There’s a test available. And Lindell says he’ll pay for it.

The recount isn’t the only election challenge involving Lindell’s ticket.

His running mate, Brad Kohler, has also gone to the Minnesota Supreme Court, seeking review of the primary result. According to MPR News, Kohler’s petition raises concerns about voting and tabulation systems and asks the state’s highest court to examine the certified defeat.

That means there are now two separate tracks: A potential statewide hand recount funded by Lindell, and a legal challenge involving his ticket.

Meanwhile, Demuth isn’t waiting around. Her campaign says she’s focused on the general election and the Nov. 3 contest against Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

“The result of last Tuesday’s primary speaks for itself,” Demuth’s campaign said. It said she is “laser-focused on connecting with voters across Minnesota over the next 11 weeks.”

Lindell entered primary day with the biggest endorsement in Republican politics. President Trump urged Minnesota Republicans to give him a “BIG WIN IN MINNESOTA.”

They didn’t. Demuth beat him decisively. And that’s worth acknowledging without qualification. An 11-point margin is not a razor-thin result. The current certified outcome is a substantial Demuth victory, and no official evidence has emerged demonstrating that the result is wrong. The question now is whether Lindell follows through with the $825,000 payment and, if he does, whether a full manual count produces anything meaningfully different.

And then there’s Smartmatic. Lindell is also attempting to use recent developments to reopen another battle involving election machines. He says his attorneys have asked a federal judge in Minneapolis to revisit rulings in his litigation with Smartmatic after President Trump declassified intelligence materials last month involving election-security concerns. A federal jury found in June 2025 that Lindell defamed Smartmatic through false statements about the company and the 2020 election. FOX 9 reports Lindell now argues the newly released material warrants another look at that case.