Minnesota governor: Lisa Demuth wins Republican primary election

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth won the Republican primary for Minnesota governor, beating out former MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and businessman and veteran Kendall Qualls. Qualls earned the GOP endorsement at the party convention earlier this year, but Lindell got the endorsement of President Trump last month.

FULL LIST: Minnesota primary election results

Republican primary results

What we know:

Minnesota has an open governor's race for the first time since 2018 after Gov. Tim Walz announced he would not seek a third term. 

Find live results below. 

Who is Lisa Demuth? 

Dig deeper:

Lisa Demuth has served as speaker of the Minnesota House since 2024 and served as minority leader before that. She was first elected to the House in 2018. She became the first Black lawmakers to serve in the role. Before entering the house she was a small business owner and served on the ROCORI school board.

Where do the candidates stand on the issues?

Local perspective:

The following details have been pulled from the candidates' campaign websites.

Fraud

Lindell: Has proposed a program similar to DOGE that will review every state welfare program. He is also calling for "tough, independent audits of state spending" and "transparency in contracts" so citizens can understand where their money goes.

Demuth: Calls for stronger internal controls to protect against fraud, freezing funds when fraud is credibly suspected, and establish an independent Office of Inspector General.

Qualls: He would hold leadership teams accountable for wrongdoing, launch random audits and institute transparency rules across the state.

Immigration/Metro Surge

Lindell: Supports legal immigration and feels when done correctly it "strengthens the country." He opposes sanctuary policies in place in some cities, like Minneapolis and St. Paul. He says he would work with federal authorities on immigration enforcement and to keep the northern border secure.

Demuth: Believes there are major changes that need to be made at the federal level to fix immigration but believes local and state authorities should cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.

Qualls: Would push for a state law that prohibits sanctuary city laws and policies. He would require local and state authorities to full cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.

Taxes

Lindell: Under his budget, he is proposing a plan that would eliminate the state income tax. Under his plan, he'd phase out the income tax, first eliminating it for seniors. To get there, he would lower spending, eliminate redundant welfare programs, fund only what works, grow tourism, and launch a direct primary care program to reduce healthcare costs.

Demuth: Would push to reduce the income tax for the lowest two brackets and cut back on expensive car tab fees. She would push to end taxes on Social Security benefits and require state surplus dollars be returned to taxpayers.

Qualls: Wants to cut income taxes, business taxes, property taxes, and state fees. He would also eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits.

Health care

Lindell: Lindell supports a direct primary care model for healthcare where primary care access is treated like a subscription service. Patients pay a monthly membership fee directly to a doctor for access to routine primary care service.

Demuth: Blames mandates and the Affordable Care Act for driving up health care costs. At Farmfest, she spoke of the importance of expanding rural access to healthcare.

Qualls: Criticized the Affordable Care Act during his Farmfest appearance and failures to repeal and replace it. However, he did say he would support a return to MNsure – Minnesota's healthcare marketplace created under the Affordable Care Act. He told FOX 9 during an interview last week he would support a healthcare waiver and using market forces to lower prices.

Education

Lindell: Supports school choice and flexible education accounts, so parents can choose between public, charter, private, online, or homeschool for their children.

Demuth: Believes there needs to be a "dramatic" investment in schools to improve student performance. If elected, she would "lead an education revolution that puts academic excellence and reading proficiency" first and eliminates "woke gender and racial ideology" from classroom instruction.

Qualls: Supports expanded school choice and a parents "bill of rights" that gives them the right to review instructional material and opt out of controversial lessons.

Public safety

Lindell: Supports additional training, tools and support for police so "good officers can do their jobs and bad actors face consequences." He supports cooperation between local police and federal immigration authorities.

Demuth: Promises to invest in and support first responders. She supports stiffer sentences for repeat offenders and wants to crack down on "soft-on-crime policies from judges and county attorneys."

Qualls: Would hire hundreds of state law enforcement to be deployed to the Twin Cities for a crackdown on crime.

2026 ElectionsMinnesotaPoliticsElectionMike Lindell