Minnesota state Rep. Lisa Demuth secured the Republican nomination for governor on Tuesday, according to Decision Desk HQ projections, handing President Trump a notable defeat in a race he had personally intervened in.
Demuth emerged from a crowded primary field to become the GOP standard-bearer in the contest to succeed outgoing Democratic Gov. Tim Walz. Her victory came despite a last-minute push from Trump, who had endorsed businessman Mike Lindell, the founder of My Pillow and a prominent election conspiracy theorist.
Trump had rallied behind Lindell, whom a federal judge found liable for defaming election technology company Smartmatic with false claims about the 2020 presidential election. In the final days of the campaign, Trump posted on social media that Lindell “deserves a BIG WIN,” but that endorsement was not enough to overcome Demuth’s appeal among Republican voters.
On the Democratic side, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a four-term incumbent and popular figure in the state, was projected to easily win her party’s gubernatorial primary, setting up a November matchup between Demuth and Klobuchar.
The race for Minnesota’s governor’s mansion was thrown wide open earlier this year when Walz, who served as the Democratic vice-presidential nominee in 2024, announced he would not seek a third term. Walz’s decision came amid a sprawling fraud scandal that has cast a shadow over his administration.
“I’ve decided to step out of the race and let others worry about the election while I focus on the work,” Walz said in January, though he expressed confidence he could have won had he stayed in.
Republicans had hoped the scandal would create an opening in a state that has trended Democratic in recent presidential cycles, with Trump losing Minnesota by single digits in each of his three runs. But the party’s path remains steep. The Cook Political Report currently rates the general election as “solid Democratic,” after shifting it from “likely Democratic” earlier this year.
Demuth, a state lawmaker from the St. Cloud area, will now face Klobuchar in a race that could test whether the GOP can capitalize on Democratic vulnerabilities in the state. Meanwhile, other Minnesota primaries also delivered notable results, including the Democratic nod in the open 2nd District, where Little clinched the nomination, and the 8th District, where Swanson won the Democratic primary to take on GOP Rep. Pete Stauber.
The outcome marks another setback for Trump’s endorsement record in key primaries, following a series of mixed results in other states. His influence remains a force in Republican politics, but Tuesday’s results show that local dynamics and candidate quality can still override presidential backing.
