Minnesota Report
There are political parades, and then there is the Fourth of July parade in Delano. Celebrating the 150th anniversary of Delano while helping commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States, organizers estimated more than 30,000 people lined the streets. In an election year, that makes Delano one of the premier campaign stops in Minnesota. Surpringly, Congressman Tom Emmer (R-MN06) was a no-show in his hometown, but his DFL-endorsed challenger, Doug Chaplin did.
Doug Chapin DFL Endorsed Candidate (MN-06)
This might be Emmer took it for granted because the parade is held in Wright County, one of the most reliably Republican counties in Minnesota, and so the vast majority of candidates in attendance were Republicans. Republican-endorsed gubernatorial candidate Kendall Qualls (R-Stillwater) attended, although another black gentlemen drove the cool three wheeled Polaris Slingshot. Also participating were his Republican primary opponents current State House Speaker Lisa Demuth (R-13A, Cold Spring) and Mike Lindell (R-Faribault) nationally recognized as the founder of MyPillow. While there were plenty of campaign signs and handshakes throughout the parade, one campaign stood apart.
House Speaker Lisa Demuth (R-13A, ColdSpring)
As Lindell traveled the parade route, he and campaign volunteers tossed miniature MyPillow pillows into the crowd while distributing campaign literature and asking parade attendees for their support. Publisher Shawn Towle witnessed the distribution firsthand and asked Lindell whether he was familiar with what longtime Minnesota political observers refer to as the “Twinkie Law.” Although there is no statute officially bearing that name, the nickname refers to Minnesota Statutes § 211B.13, which provides in part: “A candidate may not directly or indirectly give, provide, or promise to give, provide, or lend money, a gift, a loan, or any item of monetary value to an individual in order to induce the individual to vote…” Asked whether distributing miniature pillows complied with that statute, Lindell responded: “My lawyers have looked into it and we are fine.”
That answer immediately raised another question. For years, Lindell insisted that Dominion Voting Systems manipulated votes during the 2020 Presidential Election. Those claims became the basis for years of costly litigation after courts repeatedly found no evidence supporting the allegations. Among the consequences, Lindell lost his own “Prove Mike Wrong Challenge” arbitration and was ordered to pay approximately $5 million to Robert Zeidman. He also spent years defending lawsuits brought by Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems.
Those cases resulted in substantial legal expenses, court sanctions, and millions of dollars in financial losses. During 2026, additional court filings continued over unpaid attorney fees and sanctions, while the lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems concluded through a confidential settlement. The legal battles dramatically altered both Lindell’s finances and the public footprint of MyPillow. The company lost major retailers, experienced steep declines in revenue, and disappeared from longtime exhibition space at the Minnesota State Fair, where it had once maintained one of the event’s most recognizable commercial displays.
This was not the first interaction between Checks & Balances and Lindell. Our publisher talked with him during the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where Lindell appeared after shaving his trademark mustache in an apparent attempt to go incognito. Seeing him again in Delano, Towle smiled and remarked, “I see you grew your mustache back since Chicago.” Lindell laughed.
Today, we contacted the Qualls and Demuth campaigns and are awaiting their comments on the matter. Now, this is not a consideration for the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board regarding the applicability of Minnesota Statutes § 211B.13 but rather an issue for the Office of Administrative Hearing. Ironically, this is not the first time Checks & Balances has reported on Minnesota’s campaign gift law. In 1998, tPublisher Towle personally witnessed a supporter of then the Republican endorse candidate for Hennepin County Attorney Sheryl Ramstad Voss distributing butterscotch candy while asking attendees for their votes during the Uptown Art Fair. Shortly after publication, Checks & Balances received a cease-and-desist letter demanding removal of the story. At the time, the publication was newly established and lacked legal counsel, and the article was removed. We in turn wrote another story about what transpired and why the story left the page.
The incident underscored how seriously campaigns treat the restrictions contained in Minnesota Statutes Chapter 211B. Another candidate also managed to capture attention during the parade. DFL candidate Dan Fiskum (DFL-29, Rockford) brandishing a sword and shield while proclaiming himself “Dan the Data Center Slayer.” The strategy accomplished exactly what campaign messaging is intended to do—it got people talking.
Dan-Data Center Slayer-Fiskum
Along the parade route, spectators repeatedly voiced opposition to proposed data center developments throughout Minnesota, making Fiskum’s campaign theme one of the day’s most discussed political messages. He now faces Louis McNutt in the DFL primary, a race that will be worth watching as campaign season continues. Although, even with a really opportunistic name to make fun of, especially for a political candidate, one fact is evident, McNutt was trounced by Michael Holmstrom (R-29, Buffalo) by better than a 2-1 margin.