Lisa Demuth stays in Minnesota governor's race after GOP waives endorsement pledge

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - House Speaker Lisa Demuth announced Tuesday she will continue her bid for governor after the Minnesota GOP released candidates from its endorsement pledge following voting issues at the state convention, setting up a Republican primary against endorsed candidate Kendall Qualls and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.

GOP backs endorsement after voting issues

The backstory:

Qualls secured the Republican endorsement for governor after 10 rounds of voting at the Minnesota GOP State Convention.

Party Chairman Alex Plechash said that after the field narrowed to Qualls and Demuth, party officials noticed a significant drop in the number of votes cast and decided to pause the process for review.

Demuth had previously called for paper ballots after electronic voting issues delayed the convention. Party leaders ultimately continued with the electronic voting system following their review.

"After review and testing, we remain confident in the integrity of the data, the results reported, and the endorsed candidates chosen by the convention. The Republican Party of Minnesota stands behind those results," said Plechash.

Candidates released from endorsement pledge

Dig deeper:

In a statement, Plechash acknowledged that the disruption created confusion among delegates, campaigns and observers, and extended what was already a lengthy process.

"I believe it is appropriate to make clear that any gubernatorial candidate who agreed to abide by the endorsement, should not be treated as bound by that pledge. Those candidates may make their own decision about whether to continue their campaign into the primary. That decision does not change the party's position," the statement read. 

Plechash reiterated that Qualls remains the party's endorsed candidate.

"The Republican Party of Minnesota stands behind its endorsed candidates. Only our endorsed candidate for Governor, Kendall Qualls, will receive the full support, resources, and organizational backing of the state party."

House Speaker Lisa Demuth staying in the race

What's next:

Demuth and her running mate, Ryan Wilson, announced Tuesday they have filed to run in the Aug. 11 Republican primary for governor and will remain in the race following the Minnesota GOP's decision to release candidates from the endorsement pledge.

"We fully expected when we agreed to abide by the endorsement that the process would be fair, that the process would actually be full of integrity. That was brought into question," Demuth said during Tuesday's press conference.

"In light of the voting anomalies announced at the state convention this weekend, and the Republican Party of Minnesota's unprecedented action of releasing candidates from their pledge to abide, I will continue my campaign so that every Minnesota Republican has a say in their nominee," Demuth said in a statement. "Minnesota is too important to not fight for. Minnesota is worth saving."

Mike Lindell announced Monday he filed for the primary with running mate Phillip Parrish.