Lindell, who is known for his proximity to US President Donald Trump, first became famous for featuring in television commercials of his pillow brand. (Photo: Reuters) Mike Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow, has joined the race to challenge Tim Walz in the Minnesota gubernatorial election in 2026. Lindell, popularly known as the ‘MyPillow Guy,’ has filed paperwork to run for governor of Minnesota next year.
According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, the ‘Mike Lindell for Governor’ committee was registered with the state’s Campaign Finance Board on Wednesday, officially kick-starting his campaign.
Lindell, however, said he is still unsure about running for governor, but added that he will make an announcement next week.
The 64-year-old joins a crowded field of Republicans seeking to replace incumbent Democratic governor Walz.
Mike Lindell aka MyPillow Guy
Lindell, who is known for his proximity to US President Donald Trump, first became famous for featuring in television commercials of his pillow brand, which also earned him the ‘MyPillow Guy’ moniker.
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He founded MyPillow in 2009 to sell pillows, claiming he he received the design from God in a dream.
The MyPillow commercials made Lindell a household name in the US, and in 2016, he ventured into politics by supporting Trump’s presidential campaign.
2020 election result controversies
Lindell was also one of the most prominent 2020 US Presidential Election result deniers. He spent millions of dollars of his own money to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election and was one of the most prominent propagators of the ‘election was stolen’ conspiracy theory.
He had repeated Trump’s claims that Denver-based Dominion’s ballot-counting machines were used to manipulate the presidential election in favour of Joe Biden.
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Lawsuits against Lindell
Dominion sued Lindell in 2022 and in June 2025, a jury in Denver, Colorado, ordered him to pay $2.3 million to Eric Coomer, a former security and product strategy director at Dominion Voting Systems, in a defamation case.
Dominion had also reached a $787 million settlement in a separate case against Fox News over similar false claims about the 2020 election being rigged.
In September 2025, a federal judge ruled that Lindell defamed Smartmatic, another electronic voting machine-maker, by falsely accusing the company of manipulating ballots, which were connected to the internet, and helped “steal” the election for Biden.
