Trump-backed Mike Lindell loses primary for Minnesota governor to Lisa Demuth

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Four people, two women on the left and two men to the right, sit behind a table up on a state. The sign on the stage says, "Minnesota Farmfest. Minnesota Governor Candidate Forum."

Candidates for governor speak last week at an event in Morgan, Minn. From left is Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who won her party's primary, Republican speaker of the state house Lisa Demuth, who won the GOP primary, Republican business executive Mike Lindell and Republican business executive Kendall Qualls. Ellen Schmidt/AP hide caption

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Ellen Schmidt/AP

Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth fended off MyPillow founder and Trump loyalist Mike Lindell to win the state's Republican primary for governor, according to a race call by the Associated Press.

Demuth, 59, has presided over a state House that is almost evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats and she spoke in her campaign about her ability to work across the aisle. Now she'll advance to run in the fall against Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who won her party's primary decisively.

Demuth faced Lindell, who received the president's endorsement in the race last month, and Kendall Qualls, a businessman who received the state Republican Party's nod in May. Demuth said she was the Republican best equipped to snap a more than two-decade losing streak for her party in governors races.

Mike Lindell stands on stage in a dark suit and red tie and gives two thumbs up. Next to him are Sen. Amy Klobuchar on the left and Lisa Demuth, speaker of the state house, in the middle.

Much of the attention in the primary - positive and negative - focused on Lindell. Some Republican leaders in the state had questioned Lindell's electability and challenged his residency and his business record.

He actively backed Trump's false election denial claims about the 2020 election as he tried to help the president overturn the vote.

Some Republicans worried Lindell's association with Trump would hurt him in the general election. Trump lost Minnesota in each of his three runs for president. His administration launched the immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota that left two observers dead and prompted weeks of unrest.

Demuth had a sizable fundraising advantage in the race. And she campaigned on a message of having gone toe-to-toe with Democratic Gov. Tim Walz in state budget negotiations to fight for conservative priorities.

She has said much of her campaign will focus on the fight against fraud in state government programs.

Walz opted not to run for a third term. He said he would focus on tackling fraud in state programs in his time left in office.

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