Mike Lindell says he will privately fund hand recount and audit of Minnesota GOP governor’s primary after 11-point loss

MyPillow founder Mike Lindell said he is calling for a self-funded hand recount and audit of Minnesota’s Republican gubernatorial primary after he lost the nomination by about 11 percentage points.

In a statement Wednesday, Lindell said he will privately pay for the recount and audit, which he framed as a review of vote totals and reporting patterns he described as irregularities that his team identified during election night.

Lindell said the irregularities included vote totals that, in his description, appeared to move “backwards” during the initial tabulation period, suggesting changes in the figures after they had already been shown in an earlier direction.

He also said his team detected other irregularities on election night, though he did not specify additional items in the account provided by the report beyond the “backwards” vote-total description.

The announced recount plan is separate from any state-run process and is being characterized in the reporting as Lindell’s own effort to investigate results through a manual review and audit.

Minnesota election administration is handled by state and local officials, with results certified through established procedures rather than private recount efforts, and any official reconsideration would depend on whether state authorities initiate or permit a broader review under applicable election law.

If Minnesota election officials choose to consider any request for a recount or audit, questions likely would turn on timing and the governing standards for recount requests, including what materials can be reviewed and the scope of any ordered tabulation changes.

For now, Lindell’s proposal centers on his self-funded recount and audit, with the stated focus on investigating the election-night irregularities he says were reflected in vote-total movements in the initial reporting window.