MyPillow founder Mike Lindell is escalating his fight over Minnesota's gubernatorial primary results, announcing plans to seek a temporary restraining order against Secretary of State Steve Simon. The move comes after Lindell's campaign failed to meet the state's deadline for a privately funded recount, a process he has pushed for since his defeat in August.
Lindell, a Republican, lost the primary to Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth by roughly 11 percentage points, according to Decision Desk HQ. He has refused to concede, alleging irregularities in the vote count. His campaign argues that Simon's office imposed unreasonable conditions on the proposed audit, limiting it to only the top two Republican candidates and excluding Democratic ballots.
In a statement, Lindell's campaign said the restrictions put him in an "untenable position." The statement argued that the election-night anomalies his team identified suggest an algorithm affecting all candidates, not just Lindell and Demuth, and that excluding other races would violate Minnesota state law.
Cassondra Knudson, a spokesperson for Simon, told The Hill that the office did not receive the required payment or a discretionary request by the Aug. 24 deadline. She added that the state currently has no plans to conduct a recount for the Aug. 11 primary. Knudson also noted that the contingent recount plan was provided to Lindell after approval by the State Canvassing Board on Aug. 18, and that it follows state law and administrative rules.
Despite the missed deadline, Lindell's campaign attached an authorization form showing an $825,000 wire transfer in progress, dated Monday morning, as proof of "wire transfer readiness." The campaign is now asking state officials to waive the deadline until a court can rule on the alleged violations.
Lindell's legal action targets Simon and the Minnesota State Canvassing Board over their handling of the recount process. Knudson said that "next steps" will be decided by the court. This is not Lindell's first legal entanglement; he currently owes electronic voting system Smartmatic $56,369 in sanctions from a defamation lawsuit. His attorneys have said he cannot afford the payment, and on Aug. 19 they filed a motion to reconsider the ruling that held him liable for defamation over his unsubstantiated claims about the 2020 election.
The dispute highlights ongoing tensions around election integrity and recount procedures, a theme that has resonated in border-state GOP politics and broader national debates. Lindell's efforts also echo legal battles over mail-in voting rules that have reached the Department of Justice.
As the court considers Lindell's request, the case could set a precedent for how private recounts are conducted in Minnesota and beyond. For now, the state's position remains unchanged, and the recount deadline stands.
