In the aftermath of a Minnesota Republican gubernatorial primary, MyPillow founder Mike Lindell has declined to submit the $825,000 required to trigger a ballot recount — not for want of funds, but on grounds of principle. Lindell, who finished some 45,000 votes behind winner Tom Demuth, contends that the state's recount plan unlawfully narrows its scope to only the top two finishers rather than all ballots cast for the office. The dispute, arriving at the intersection of electoral law and political grievance, now awaits a court to determine whether the recount will happen at all — and by whos
Lindell Withholds Recount Payment Over Dispute With Minnesota Election Officials
The actions taken by the Secretary of State put Mike Lindell in an untenable position
Mark
Why does Lindell care about the scope of the recount if he's already lost by 45,000 votes?
Mimi
Because if he's going to spend $825,000 and ask voters to believe the system is broken, he needs to be able to say he challenged it completely. A partial recount looks like he's only checking the votes that might help him.
Mark
But the state says they've done this the same way for twenty years. Why would they change it now?
Mimi
Exactly. That's the state's strongest argument. They're saying this is normal procedure, not something invented to stop Lindell. But Lindell's reading of the law is that "recount" means all votes, not just the top two.
Mark
Is that a reasonable reading?
Mimi
It depends on the law's language and how courts have interpreted it. That's why he's asking a judge to decide instead of just paying and accepting the state's version.
Mark
What happens if the court agrees with him?
Mimi
Then the state has to recount all the ballots, which costs more time and money. If the court agrees with the state, Lindell either pays under their terms or walks away.
Mark
And if he walks away?
Mimi
Then there's no recount, and Demuth stays the nominee. Lindell gets to say the system wouldn't let him verify the results, but he also doesn't get to actually challenge the outcome.
Mark
So this is partly about principle and partly about leverage?
Mimi
It's hard to separate them. He's claiming principle—that the law requires a full recount. But the leverage is real too. He's forcing the state to either bend or fight him in court before November.
El Pulso
- Lindell had the money ready but refused to hand it over, arguing the state's recount methodology was itself the violation he could not fund.
- The core tension is a legal one: Lindell reads Minnesota statute as requiring all primary votes to be counted, while state officials say their two-decade-old procedure of counting only the top finishers is fully lawful.
- The Secretary of State's office, backed by the State Canvassing Board's August 18 approval, shows no sign of yielding — calling the plan consistent, transparent, and publicly documented.
- With a 45,000-vote deficit and no evidence of fraud offered, Lindell's challenge faces steep odds, yet his court petition has thrown the recount timeline into legal limbo.
- The Republican nominee must be determined before November, when the winner faces a Democrat in the race to succeed retiring Governor Tim Walz — leaving the clock as perhaps the most consequential pressure of all.
In the aftermath of a Minnesota Republican gubernatorial primary, MyPillow founder Mike Lindell has declined to submit the $825,000 required to trigger a ballot recount — not for want of funds, but on grounds of principle. Lindell, who finished some 45,000 votes behind winner Tom Demuth, contends that the state's recount plan unlawfully narrows its scope to only the top two finishers rather than all ballots cast for the office. The dispute, arriving at the intersection of electoral law and political grievance, now awaits a court to determine whether the recount will happen at all — and by whose rules — before November's general election.
Mike Lindell announced Monday he would not pay the $825,000 required to initiate a recount of Minnesota's Republican gubernatorial primary, insisting the state had designed a process he considered unlawful. His campaign was clear: the money existed. The objection was to the terms.
Lindell, who lost to fellow Republican Tom Demuth by roughly 45,000 votes in the August 11 primary, argued that Minnesota officials planned to recount only the ballots cast for the top two finishers — himself and Demuth — while ignoring votes cast for other candidates in the race. He pointed to state law defining a recount as determining votes "validly cast for the office," language he interpreted as requiring a full accounting of all primary ballots. Rather than pay under conditions he viewed as illegal, his campaign asked a court to intervene and suspend the payment deadline pending a ruling on the scope of the recount.
The Secretary of State's office rejected that framing. Spokesperson Cassondra Knudson said the recount plan had been approved by the State Canvassing Board on August 18 and mirrored procedures used consistently for twenty years, with no findings of fraud or irregularity ever resulting. The state had published detailed logistics: a designated recount official, deputy overseers at sites across Minnesota, and proceedings open to the public and press.
On primary night, Lindell had vowed not to concede until every vote was reviewed and cited unspecified "anomalies" — though no evidence of irregularity has been produced or confirmed by officials. The matter now rests in legal uncertainty, with a November general election approaching and the identity of the Republican nominee still unresolved.
Mike Lindell said Monday he would not pay the $825,000 required to recount ballots from Minnesota's Republican gubernatorial primary, claiming state election officials had designed an unlawful process that he could not in good conscience fund.
Lindell, the MyPillow founder who finished second to fellow Republican Tom Demuth in the August 11 primary, had promised to cover the recount costs himself. The Secretary of State's office set Monday as the deadline for him to submit both the request and the payment. His campaign said the money was ready. The problem, they argued, was not the price but the plan.
According to Lindell's statement, Minnesota officials intended to recount only the votes cast for Lindell and Demuth—the top two finishers—while excluding ballots cast for other candidates in the race. Lindell's legal position rested on a reading of Minnesota law that defines a recount as determining "the number of votes validly cast for the office or question to be recounted." In his view, that language required the state to count all votes cast in the primary, not a subset of them. "The actions taken by the Secretary of State put Mike Lindell in an untenable position," his campaign said. Rather than pay under what he saw as unlawful terms, Lindell asked the court to intervene and asked the state to suspend the deadline until a judge could rule on the scope question.
The Secretary of State's office pushed back. Cassondra Knudson, a spokesperson for Steve Simon, said the contingency recount plan had been approved by the State Canvassing Board on August 18 and reflected established procedure. "The plan follows state law and administrative rules on recount procedures, and is consistent with plans of its kind for the past two decades," she said. The state had released detailed documents showing how a hand recount would work: Paul Linnell, the office's director of elections, would serve as the state recount official, with authority to appoint deputies to oversee counting at sites across Minnesota. The recount would be open to the public and media.
The numbers in question were not close. Demuth received 179,683 votes in the primary. Lindell received 134,282. On primary night, Lindell told reporters he would not concede until every vote had been counted and said his team had identified "anomalies" requiring review, though he offered no evidence of fraud or irregularity. State election officials have found no official findings of fraud or irregularity in the results.
Minnesota law requires an apparent losing candidate to submit a recount request along with payment within five days of the primary canvass. Lindell's refusal to pay—framed as a principled objection to the state's methodology rather than an inability to afford it—now puts the matter in legal limbo. The Republican nominee will face a Democratic opponent in November to succeed retiring Governor Tim Walz. Whether Lindell's recount happens before then, and under what rules, remains unresolved.
Citas Notables
The plan follows state law and administrative rules on recount procedures, and is consistent with plans of its kind for the past two decades.— Cassondra Knudson, spokesperson for Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon
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