By Michelle Griffith | Reporter
Good morning, Reformers.
The chairman of the Minnesota Republican Party recently asked the Secretary of State Steve Simon to clarify the residency requirements for a candidate running for governor, citing concerns about whether MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has lived in the state long enough to hold office.
The letter, first reported by KSTP, is a surprising inquiry by the head of the state’s Republican Party challenging a leading candidate for the GOP nomination for governor. The Minnesota Republican Party rebuked Lindell after President Donald Trump endorsed him, and now they are questioning whether Lindell has lived in the state for one year prior to the November election — a requirement to serve, as spelled out in Article 5 of the Minnesota Constitution. Chairman Alex Plechash in his letter cited Lindell’s recent residency in Texas and said voters deserved to know before the Aug. 11 primary whether Lindell is eligible to become governor.
The Secretary of State’s Office told KSTP that it doesn’t have the authority to investigate a candidate’s residency, which is typically a matter for the courts.
Lindell in response told the TV network that he has pay stubs that show he’s been working and paying taxes in Minnesota since August of 2025. The Minnesota Republican Party clearly does not want Lindell to win the primary election, as polling shows he would lose badly to Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
In other Lindell news, the pillow mogul told me last week that his campaign has recently spent $200,000 for campaign-related expenses, like yard signs, even though those costs didn’t show up on his latest campaign finance report.
In a recent episode of The Break Down, co-hosted by former GOP communications specialists Michael Brodkorb and Becky Scherr, the duo pointed out that if Lindell’s claim of $200,000 in campaign expenses is true, then his campaign would be broke.
As of July 20, the campaign had $87,679 in cash, meaning a $200,000 expense puts the campaign in the red. If he wins the primary next week, Lindell would pretty much be broke going up against Klobuchar, whose campaign reported having nearly $4.5 million in cash.
In addition, the campaign’s most recent report showed no great influx of money in the immediate days after Trump endorsed Lindell. This is highly unusual, Brodkorb and Scherr said, as other candidates who have garnered Trump’s endorsement typically receive MAGA donations pretty quickly.
I think the takeaway from Lindell’s campaign finances is that Lindell is an unreliable narrator who is difficult to pin down about his personal finances, and the same goes for his campaign. Is it a preview of a Lindell governorship?
Onto today’s Reformer.
(Photo by Nicole Neri/The Minnesota Reformer)
By Ria Gupta
The low-dose THC industry that makes the popular beverages and edibles you see at liquor and convenience stores and breweries got a sliver of hope Sunday in the face of a looming federal prohibition of the key ingredient they need for their products.
Klobuchar said her bill — known as the Hemp Planning Predictability Act — made it into a bipartisan Senate budget deal that would keep the government open until December. It still needs to pass the House and Senate and win the signature of President Trump.
The Klobuchar provision would delay the ban on THC products derived from hemp plants, which is set to take effect Nov. 11, for one month.
By Christopher Ingraham
Former Reformer reporter Chris Ingraham makes his triumphant return! Chris writes about Polk County Attorney Greg Widseth, who has spent decades pushing the law to its limits in pursuit of severe penalties for drug users.
An alleged fentanyl dealer in East Grand forks is getting a new trial because Widseth “plainly erred by misstating the law” governing drug conspiracies, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled last month.
This is the latest embarrassment for Widseth, Chris writes, as he has made headlines for using an archaic “drug tax stamp law” to obtain convictions, and he charged a woman for possession of bong water, which prompted Minnesota lawmakers to change the law. Widseth has also gone to unusual lengths to obtain enhanced penalties under a “drug-free zone law.”
Widseth is running for the county attorney’s office unopposed, as he has in every election since 2002.
IN OTHER NEWS
That’s all. Have a great Tuesday!
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