The proposed recount would be paid for by Lindell, not the state, because the margin was far beyond Minnesota’s automatic-recount threshold. The next test is whether he submits the required request and financial guarantee by the state’s deadline.
Mike Lindell said he will fund a hand recount of Minnesota governor primary ballots after losing the Republican nomination contest to Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth. The recount concerns Minnesota governor primary ballots cast in the Aug. 11 election, and it would be a candidate-paid statewide effort rather than an automatic state-funded recount.
The price is estimated at roughly $825,000, according to a letter from the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office cited by CBS Minnesota. Lindell’s plan matters because his loss was not close: Demuth beat him by about 11 percentage points, leaving him far outside the margin that would trigger a publicly funded recount.
A recount bid after a wide loss
Lindell, the MyPillow founder and longtime election skeptic, finished second in the GOP primary for governor. Demuth, the state House speaker, emerged as the party’s nominee and is scheduled to face Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar in the Nov. 3 general election for the seat being vacated by retiring Gov. Tim Walz.
On the night of the primary, Lindell said he would not concede until every vote had been counted. He later said his team had noticed “anomalies,” but CBS Minnesota reported that he did not provide evidence at the time.
Election officials have made no finding of fraud or irregularities in the primary results. That distinction is central: Lindell is seeking to use a recount process available under state law, not acting on an official determination that the original count was flawed.
Why the state will not pay
Minnesota provides an automatic state-paid recount only when a statewide race falls within a narrow margin. CBS Minnesota reported that the threshold for this contest was 0.25%, well below the roughly 11-point gap between Demuth and Lindell.
That does not necessarily end the matter for a losing candidate. Minnesota law allows an apparent losing candidate to request a discretionary recount outside the automatic-recount range, but the candidate must cover the cost.
In practical terms, the law creates two very different paths. A razor-thin contest can move into a state-funded recount. A decisive result can still be reviewed, but only if the requesting candidate follows the formal procedure and provides the money needed to conduct it.
- Automatic recount: triggered only when the margin meets the statutory threshold.
- Discretionary recount: requested by a losing candidate and funded by that candidate.
- This case: Lindell’s reported margin means the discretionary route is the relevant one.
The $825,000 deadline question
The Secretary of State’s Office estimated that a full recount of the governor and lieutenant governor races would cost about $825,000, CBS Minnesota reported. Lindell would need to submit an official request together with a bond, cash or surety sufficient to cover that amount.
The reported deadline is Monday, Aug. 24. Under Minnesota law, an apparent losing candidate seeking a discretionary primary recount must file the request and the required funds within five days after the canvass of the primary election.
So far, Lindell has announced an intention to pay for the process. An announcement alone is not the same as a completed recount request. Whether the recount proceeds depends on the filing, the financial guarantee and the state’s administration of the process.
How a statewide hand count would work
The Secretary of State’s Office has issued a contingency plan for a statewide hand recount if Lindell meets the filing requirements, according to CBS Minnesota. The plan identifies the state’s director of elections, Paul Linnell, as the State Recount Official with authority to appoint staff to oversee sites around Minnesota.
A hand recount would involve reviewing paper ballots rather than simply rerunning machine totals. It would be an administrative review governed by state rules, with designated recount officials supervising the work across the state.
The state’s plan says the recount would be open to the public and the media. That transparency may give voters and campaigns an opportunity to observe the process, but it does not predetermine whether the recount will change any totals or alter the result.
Demuth turns toward November
Demuth has signaled that her campaign is focused on the general election rather than the recount dispute. In a statement to WCCO, she said she was “laser focused” on connecting with Minnesota voters in the weeks before November.
Her campaign highlighted priorities including taxes, education, business competitiveness and combating fraud. Those positions show the contrast now forming within the Republican side of the race: Lindell is concentrating on a review of the primary vote, while Demuth is moving ahead as the party’s nominee.
Lindell has become nationally known for advancing unproven claims about the 2020 election and voting-machine companies. CBS Minnesota noted that he recently settled a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems and that a judge found he defamed Smartmatic; damages in the Smartmatic case had not yet been determined.
What the recount can and cannot settle
A properly requested recount can provide another official count of the paper ballots in the governor and lieutenant governor contest. It cannot, by itself, establish that fraud occurred, particularly when officials have not identified irregularities and the candidate has not publicly substantiated the claims he raised.
Lindell argues that Minnesota law gives him the right to pursue a complete hand count at his own expense. Supporters may view that option as a useful check on election administration. Critics are likely to point to the size of Demuth’s lead and the absence of official evidence of problems as reasons to see the effort as unlikely to change the outcome.
The immediate unanswered question is procedural, not electoral: whether Lindell meets the Aug. 24 requirements to formally launch the recount. Unless that happens, Demuth’s primary victory remains the certified result and the campaign’s attention will stay on Minnesota’s November governor’s race.
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