Minnesota Report
As we continue to try to secure any form of verification on Donald J Trump (R) endorsed gubernatorial candidate Mike Lindell’s (R-MN) legitimacy as a candidate, due to questions about whether or not he can prove he returned to Minnesota a full year before he filed for office, focusing on when this will be verified is key. Two scenarios have significantly different results.
First, if he is disqualified before the August 11th Primary or afterwards, because if he were to be removed from the ballot before, then the eventual winner of the contest will be the person in 2nd position, but actually the winner outright, noting any vote already cast for Lindell in early voting will be considered null and void, and these votes will be spoiled. This also means anyone who voted early will have to return to the polls on Primary Day to vote in this race. Now, if the polling we have seen is accurate, then House Speaker Lisa Demuth (R-13A, Cold Spring) would prevail.
But if the removal were to occur post-Primary, then for the ultimate decision-maker—the Republican Party of Minnesota—to exercise its full authority, it would be honor-bound to uphold its support for its own endorsed candidate, Kendall Qualls (R-MN).
Because of each scenario, this is problematic for the party no matter what shakes out.