How Kendall Qualls upset Lisa Demuth for the Minnesota GOP governor endorsement
Minnesota's endorsing conventions are over, and the story of the weekend is the upset of House Speaker Lisa Demuth in the GOP governor's race.
After disputes about ballots and concerns about voting totals, businessman Kendall Qualls won the endorsement. But the endorsement is no longer a guarantee of victory in the August primary.
The upset at the Republican nominating convention in Duluth happened on the 10th ballot. The MAGA supporters of another candidate, MyPillow mogul and Donald Trump associate Mike Lindell, helped engineer Qualls' victory.
"In a state that I contend is a purple state — I know it, I have seen the numbers — but we do not field a candidate that can raise the money, can have the name ID, and who can work or debate an Amy Klobuchar, Angie Craig or Peggy Flanagan in these big races, we are not going to ever win," said Amy Frederickson, a GOP analyst.
As the voting continued, Mike Lindell, who is running for governor a third time, was forced to drop out. Lindell urged all his supporters — more than 20% of the convention delegates — to support Qualls. Lindell argued that Qualls is, like him, an outsider candidate.
Lindell was quoted as saying he wanted to block Demuth from getting the nomination.
Demuth had been expected to win, but throughout the night there were irregularities in the voting totals.
WCCO has reached out to the Minnesota GOP about the voting concerns, and has not yet heard back.
Demuth said originally that she would honor the endorsement, but now it's not clear if she will join Qualls and Lindell in competing in the August primary.
"Minnesota Republicans, if you want a voice, if you don't want this to be a DFL-only state, then you have to support a primary," Demuth said.
The chaos on the Republican side was matched by efficiency and a show of force on the DFL side.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar cruised to the nomination, and faces no significant opposition in the August primary. Klobuchar has a formidable fundraising lead as well: $3.4 million in cash on hand, which is more than triple what the top three Republican candidates have combined.
Demuth has $443,000, Lindell has $40,000 and Qualls has $100,000.
Early voting for the GOP and DFL primaries start June 26.
