Mike Lindell is withholding a required payment for a recount of the Minnesota Republican gubernatorial primary, according to a statement from his campaign on Monday. Lindell, who finished second in the primary, argues that the recount process proposed by the Secretary of State's office is unlawful due to a dispute over its scope.
The dispute centers on which ballots will be included in the recount. The Lindell campaign stated that state officials intend to recount only votes cast for Lindell and the projected winner, Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth (R), while excluding other candidates in the race. Lindell’s campaign claims this violates a state provision defining a recount as a determination of "the number of votes validly cast for the office or question to be recounted."
Secretary of State General Counsel Lauren Bethke set Monday as the deadline for the recount request and payment. While the campaign stated that $825,000 was "primed and ready" to cover the costs, Lindell is asking the state to waive the deadline until a court can rule on the parameters of the recount. According to current results, Demuth received 179,683 votes compared to 134,282 for Lindell.
Cassondra Knudson, a spokesperson for Secretary of State Steve Simon, said the office's plan follows state law and administrative rules. Knudson stated the plan is consistent with recount procedures used for the past two decades and was approved by the State Canvassing Board on August 18. The state's contingency plan for a statewide hand recount includes public and media access, with oversight by a designated state recount official.
For the 313,965 voters who cast ballots for the two leading candidates, the outcome of this dispute determines whether a hand recount of their ballots will occur. A person who voted in the primary would notice a delay in the final certification of the results if the court intervenes, or the finalization of current results if the payment deadline is not waived or met. The state agency reported that there have been no official findings of fraud or irregularity in the primary results to date.
The resolution of this challenge will determine the official Republican nominee who will face Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar in the November 3 general election. The winner of that contest will succeed retiring Gov. Tim Walz. If the recount does not proceed, the current results standing at a margin of 45,401 votes will remain official. A court ruling on the legal definition of a "recount" under Minnesota statutes could set a precedent for how future multi-candidate primary disputes are handled by election officials. Currently, Lindell is seeking a court ruling to stay the payment deadline.