JUST IN: New Poll Gives Mike Lindell Huge News In Minnesota Governor Race

Mike Lindell just posted numbers that have to be making his rivals nervous.

A new Big Data Poll released by the Lindell campaign shows the MyPillow founder leading the Minnesota Republican gubernatorial primary at 21 percent, narrowly ahead of Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth at 19 percent.

The timing could not be sharper. The Minnesota GOP State Convention is less than a week away.

🚨 Breaking News: Mike Lindell Leads in Race for Minnesota Governor! 🇺🇸

New polling shows Mike Lindell leading the Republican field just days before the MN GOP Convention and with a President Trump endorsement, his lead grows to a commanding 22 points.

Support Mike’s Campaign… pic.twitter.com/XlABrTHMnX

— Mike Lindell (@realMikeLindell) May 22, 2026

The poll, conducted May 18 through May 20, surveyed 1,236 registered voters including 512 Republicans, according to the Lindell campaign.

On the initial ballot, Lindell is listed at 21 percent, Demuth at 19 percent, and Qualls at 9 percent, with Patrick Knight, Peggy Bennett, John Krhin, Phillip Parrish, and Raul Estrada trailing behind them. The release gives Big Data Poll’s field dates as May 18 through May 20, with 1,236 registered voters, 1,114 likely voters, and 512 Republicans included in the sample.

The release puts the overall sampling error at plus or minus 2.8 percent and says subgroup margins are higher, which matters because the Republican primary numbers come from a smaller slice of the full sample. The President Trump endorsement test is the other major piece: under that scenario, Lindell jumps to roughly 36 percent, Demuth falls near 14 percent, and Qualls sits around 8 percent.

That is the poll result driving the political heat here, especially with convention week now closing in on every campaign.

Now here is the number that jumps off the page: in a President Trump endorsement test scenario, Lindell surges to nearly 36 percent while Demuth drops to roughly 14 percent.

That is a 22-point gap if Trump were to put his thumb on the scale.

To be clear, this is an internal poll commissioned by the Lindell campaign rather than an independent media survey. Internal polls are designed to show a candidate’s best possible positioning, and campaigns rarely release numbers that make them look weak.

Still, the trend line is not new. An older Peak Insights/NRSC topline from earlier this year already had Lindell at 18 percent and Demuth at 17 percent among GOP primary voters, with 68 percent of respondents identifying with the Trump/MAGA wing of the party.

Lindell has been competitive in this race for months. The new numbers suggest he may be pulling ahead.

Big Data Poll | 5/18-5/20

Minnesota Governor Republican primary 2026

🟥Mike Lindell 21.3%
🟥Lisa Demuth 19.4%
🟥Kendall Qualls 8.8%
🟥Patrick Knight 3.6%
🟥Peggy Bennett 2.56
🟥John Krhin 1.8%
🟥Phillip Parrish 1.6%
🟥Raul Estrada 0.6%
Undecided 40.6%
——
If Trump endorses Mike… pic.twitter.com/GeqIuSJ1QG

— Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 (@PollTracker2024) May 22, 2026

The massive undecided vote is the elephant in the room. Over 40 percent of Republican respondents have not committed to a candidate, which means the convention fight is wide open and delegate loyalty will matter enormously.

The Republican Party of Minnesota has the convention stakes laid out here:

The 2026 State Convention is scheduled for May 29 through May 30 at the Duluth Entertainment Center, with the event built around party business and statewide endorsements. One listed purpose is endorsing gubernatorial and lieutenant governor candidates, which makes a late movement poll especially important for campaigns trying to show delegates they have real grassroots energy.

The statewide abiding-candidates page names Lisa Demuth and running mate Ryan Wilson, Kendall Qualls, and Patrick Knight as governor candidates who agreed to honor the convention endorsement. Lindell is absent from that abiding list, so his campaign can fight for delegate momentum while also preserving the option to take the race directly to August primary voters.

That dynamic gives this poll a second layer. If Lindell can convince Minnesota Republicans that he has the strongest connection to President Trump’s voters, he can pressure the party establishment even if the formal endorsement process tilts toward one of the candidates already committed to abide.

That distinction matters.

A candidate who does not agree to abide by the endorsement can still run in the August primary regardless of the convention outcome. Lindell appears to be keeping his options open.

KTTC reported that a May 21 GOP gubernatorial debate featured Demuth, Knight, and Qualls, each of whom had committed to honor the convention endorsement.

Lindell missed that debate stage. If these numbers hold, he may not need that stage to prove he has a lane.

The MAGA grassroots energy in Minnesota is real. Nearly seven in ten GOP voters in the earlier NRSC survey identified with the Trump wing of the party, and Lindell is the candidate most visibly aligned with that movement.

Whether this momentum carries through Duluth next weekend is the question that matters now. With 40 percent of voters still up for grabs, nothing is locked in, but Lindell has positioned himself exactly where he wants to be heading into convention week.