Minnesota governor: Lisa Demuth wins Republican primary election

Published August 11, 2026 10:40 PM CDT

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

Results can be found 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.

Local perspective:

The following details have been pulled from Demuth's campaign website. 

Fraud

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

Immigration/Metro Surge

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.

Taxes

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.

Health care

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.

Education

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.

Public safety

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."

The Source: Information comes from The Associated Press' election results and FOX 9 reporting. 

2026 ElectionsMinnesotaPoliticsElectionMike Lindell