Mike Lindell, the founder and CEO of MyPillow, has stepped down from his position to focus fully on his campaign for governor of Minnesota. He announced this on his social media page, as reported by infohub.kz.
Lindell said that this decision is not about abandoning the company, but rather a step forward to serve the public. "This decision is not about walking away. It is about stepping forward to serve. I am putting Minnesota above myself, my title, and my business interests so I can give this campaign and the people of our state my full time, energy, and attention," he said.
Lindell, endorsed by Donald Trump, is a longtime loyalist of the former president and has spent millions of dollars trying to prove that the 2020 election was rife with fraud. He says his run is meant to disrupt the state's political establishment. "The establishment hasn't done anything for us," he said. "People can't afford to live, and I want to make Minnesota affordable again."
A Minnesota native, Lindell is currently in court fighting a lawsuit filed by state senate hopeful Dan Fiskum, who in a lawsuit filed on July 22 claims that Lindell violated campaign finance policies by distributing pillows with "Mike Lindell for Governor" written on them. Lindell called the allegations "a complete lie" and expects the judge to rule in his favor soon. He adds that he and his campaign checked with the state's campaign finance board to ensure they could distribute the promotional pillows, which he says cost less than $5 each.
"This is all a hit job, we are not in violation at all," he said. "This is an attack on me running for governor, because the GOP didn't like that I got Donald Trump's endorsement."
In recent years, Lindell has had to pay out millions of dollars for defaming a former employee of a voting machine company and to another man who debunked data Lindell used to advance Trump's false claim that his 2020 election defeat was the result of voting fraud.
Minnesota's primary elections will be held on August 11.