Mike Lindell, a prominent supporter of Donald Trump and founder of MyPillow, intends to finance a recount for Minnesota’s GOP primary for governor. He lost the race by 11 percentage points earlier this month. Lindell announced his plans in a phone interview with NBC News, stating he had already hired a team to scrutinize the primary. Lisa Demuth, the state House Speaker, won the election on August 11.
Lindell approached the Minnesota secretary of state’s office to determine the cost of a full recount. According to a letter from Lauren Bethke, the secretary of state’s general counsel, a complete hand recount and audit would cost approximately $825,000. Lindell anticipates expenses could rise to “upwards of $1 million” due to additional activities like hiring his investigative team, a cost he is prepared to cover.
As of Wednesday, the secretary of state’s office had not received an official recount request. The letter from Bethke specified that Lindell must submit an official recount request along with “a bond, cash, or surety” by Monday to proceed. Lindell intends to deliver this request in person and is coordinating with the office to determine the locations where recounts will occur. He plans to dispatch observers to oversee the process.
In a news release, Lindell claimed his team discovered several “irregularities” in the election data linked to electronic voting machines. Despite the primary outcome, he believes the recount could help eliminate these machines. Lindell, endorsed by Trump for the primary, has experienced multiple lawsuits from voting machine companies over false 2020 election claims. In January, a federal judge ordered him to pay $56,369 in sanctions to Smartmatic USA Corp., a voting machine company, for defamation. After refusing to pay, the judge imposed a $500 daily fine, increasing his financial obligations.
Lindell’s attorneys requested U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan, who previously ruled against him, to reconsider the defamation ruling. They cited “newly available evidence” in the form of documents on election security released by Trump. However, these documents did not provide evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Lindell remains adamant that the documents support his fraud claims and intends to continue challenging Smartmatic, irrespective of the judge’s decision on reopening the case.