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Home Latest Articles Kendall Qualls wins GOP endorsement for governor in 10th round of voting

Kendall Qualls wins GOP endorsement for governor in 10th round of voting

The endorsement battle for governor is expected to go for several rounds of voting.

By
Luke Sprinkel
-
Kendall Qualls speaks at the Republican Party of Minnesota state convention in Duluth. (Alpha News)

Minnesota Republicans are meeting in Duluth today for the second day of their state convention. The main event of the day will be endorsing a candidate to run against U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar in the gubernatorial race.

The candidates seeking the endorsement for governor are House Speaker Lisa Demuth, businessman Kendall Qualls, former CEO Patrick Knight, MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, State Rep. Peggy Bennett, former Navy intelligence officer Phillip Parrish, and John Krhin.

— 9:33 p.m. —

The 2026 Minnesota Republican state convention has officially adjourned.

— 9:15 p.m. —

“We Are the Champions” by Queen played over the speakers as the slate of Republican-endorsed candidates left the stage.

— 9:12 p.m. —

The Republican-endorsed candidates for Minnesota’s statewide offices in 2026:

Governor: Kendall Qualls
U.S. Senate: Adam Schwarze
Attorney General: Ron Schutz
Secretary of State: Tad Jude
State Auditor: Nate George

— 9:07 p.m. — 

Results from the tenth ballot of the Minnesota Republican Party’s endorsement for governor.

  1. Kendall Qualls: 60.4% (1066 votes)
  2. Lisa Demuth: 37.3% (658 votes)

A candidate needs 60% of the vote to win the endorsement. As such, Qualls is the Republican-endorsed candidate for governor.

— 8:28 p.m. — 

Results from the ninth ballot of the Minnesota Republican Party’s endorsement for governor.

  1. Kendall Qualls: 59.5% (1057 votes)
  2. Lisa Demuth: 37.8% (672 votes)
  3. No endorsement: 42 votes
  4. No preference: 5 votes

A candidate needs 60% of the vote to win the endorsement. As such, the convention will vote on a tenth ballot.

— 8:12 p.m. — 

Speaking to the convention before ballot nine, Kendall Qualls said “we are so close,” in reference to being on the cusp of receiving 60% of the votes.

Meanwhile, State Sen. Nathan Wesenberg spoke during Lisa Demuth’s allotted time and said “Kendall’s a great guy. I think Lisa will win,” in reference to the general election.

— 7:55 p.m. —

Results from the eighth ballot of the Minnesota Republican Party’s endorsement for governor.

  1. Kendall Qualls: 59.1% (1077 votes)
  2. Lisa Demuth: 38.5% (702 votes)
  3. No endorsement: 38 votes
  4. No preference: 4 votes

A candidate needs 60% of the vote to win the endorsement. As such, there will be a ninth ballot.

— 7:12 p.m. —

The convention just rejected an effort to move to paper ballots.

That effort required an affirmative two-thirds vote which did not materialize. The vote was conducted by delegates standing and sitting.

— 7:08 p.m. —

Results from the seventh ballot of the Minnesota Republican Party’s endorsement for governor.

  1. Kendall Qualls: 57.2% (1059 votes)
  2. Lisa Demuth: 39.7% (735 votes)
  3. No endorsement: 56 votes
  4. No preference: 3 votes

A candidate needs 60% of the vote to win the endorsement.

The vote was conducted with the electronic clickers that have been heavily criticized during the convention.

— 6:49 p.m. —

Prior to a vote on the seventh ballot, the convention has announced that the voting strength of the convention is 2,097. That is the maximum amount of people that could vote on an endorsement ballot.

— 6:42 p.m. —

Lisa Demuth also addressed the convention again. She said “election integrity matters.”

Demuth said “there is no confidence in what is happening” and expressed support for paper ballots being used at the convention.

Ryan Wilson, Demuth’s running mate, also advocated for the use of paper ballots.

— 6:39 p.m. —

Kendall Qualls addressed the convention again. He walked up to the podium saying “Fight! Fight!”

Qualls said he is the strongest candidate to take on Amy Klobuchar. He asked for the votes of delegates who supported Mike Lindell and Patrick Knight.

He referenced the second vote on the sixth ballot which placed him at 55%.

— 6:09 p.m. —

The convention is going to run a few test questions before the vote on the seventh ballot.

— 5:55 p.m. — 

Convention Chair Danny Nadeau announced that they will now take a vote on ballot number seven. Both candidates will speak to the convention again.

Nadeau previously said they believe they solved the electronic voting anomaly.

— 5:44 p.m. — 

The convention published the results from ballots that were not previously seen.

The first vote on ballot six:

  1. Kendall Qualls: 915 votes
  2. Lisa Demuth: 613 votes

The second vote on ballot six:

  1. Kendall Qualls: 55.8% (1094 votes)
  2. Lisa Demuth: 41.6% (815 votes)

The second version of the sixth ballot was after they rebooted the electronic voting system.

— 5:23 p.m. —

Lisa Demuth told the convention that she questions the “entire voting for the entire day.”

— 5:15 p.m. —

Convention Chair Danny Nadeau said there was an anomaly that affected the number of votes received by the electronic voting system for ballots five and six. However, he said that anomaly did not affect the re-vote of ballot six.

Nadeau said he thinks they solved the problem. The candidates are addressing the convention and the delegates will decide how to proceed.

— 4:30 p.m. —

To recap, Republican delegates voted on five ballots for governor. Lisa Demuth and Kendall Qualls were the only two candidates remaining. Qualls led on the fifth ballot.

However, the convention ran into technical problems with the electronic clickers on the sixth ballot and results were never released.

Convention Chair Danny Nadeau then said they found inconsistencies in a ballot and are working to resolve the situation with the Demuth and Qualls campaigns.

— 4:24 p.m. —

The situation is still being worked on. In the meantime, the convention will hear from Republican-endorsed candidates for congressional districts 4 and 5.

— 4:11 p.m. —

It was pretty heated between Lisa Demuth and Kendall Qualls in the lead-up to the sixth ballot, but that was over an hour ago.

Any political attacks launched by either campaign during the last round of remarks could be long forgotten by the time there is another vote.

— 3:43 p.m. —

Convention Chair Danny Nadeau announced a recess for 15 minutes. Nadeau said there was a ballot with inconsistencies and they are working with the candidates now on how to resolve it.

— 3:32 p.m. —

It’s been a while since they held the re-vote on the sixth ballot and we haven’t heard anything yet. Normally, the ballot results are released a lot faster than this.

— 3:07 p.m. —

Convention Chair Danny Nadeau just announced that they are going to re-vote on the sixth ballot. Results of the sixth ballot was never released.

Re-voting on that ballot is going to occur because apparently there were some kind of problem involving some of the electronic clickers.

— 2:56 p.m. —

It’s getting heated at the convention. Ryan Wilson, Lisa Demuth’s running mate, has spoken multiple times during some of her allotted speaking time.

Qualls criticized that in his remarks, effectively saying he does not need someone else to deliver his remarks for him.

Demuth has addressed the convention multiple times herself.

— 2:47 p.m. —

In her remarks, Lisa Demuth touted her legislative experience. Meanwhile, Demuth’s running mate, Ryan Wilson, told the convention that Kendall Qualls is “broke.”

In his remarks, Qualls slammed Demuth, citing a House resolution that was passed recently which affirmed “strong support for Minnesota’s Somali-American community.”

— 2:33 p.m. —

Kendall Qualls and Lisa Demuth are each going to address the convention again. Both have previously pledged to abide by the endorsement.

Convention Chair Danny Nadeau confirmed that there are hundreds of delegates and alternates that are not voting.

Even if a candidate had gotten 60% on the last ballot, not enough people voted to secure an endorsement.

— 2:28 p.m. —

Results from the fifth ballot of the Minnesota Republican Party’s endorsement for governor are in.

1. Kendall Qualls: 49.9% (776 votes)
2. Lisa Demuth: 46.0% (716 votes)
3. No endorsement: 62 votes
4. No preference: 2 votes

A candidate needs 60% of the vote to win the endorsement.

— 2:01 p.m. —

Results from the fourth ballot of the Minnesota Republican Party’s endorsement for governor are in.

1. Lisa Demuth: 42.4% (807 votes)
2. Kendall Qualls: 35.8% (681 votes)
3. Mike Lindell: 21.4% (408 votes)

For this ballot, the candidate with the lowest amount of votes is removed from subsequent ballots. As such, Mike Lindell will not be on the fifth ballot.

— 1:50 p.m. —

For her third set of remarks, Lisa Demuth brought Minnesota state legislators onto the stage with her.

During Kendall Qualls’ allotted speaking time, people from Quall’s church were on stage and one spoke.

Meanwhile, Mike Lindell said he was running in the primary. Audible “boos” were heard. He read his cellphone number on stage.

— 1:38 p.m. —

Candidates are going to address the convention again before the fourth ballot. A candidate needs to win 60% of the vote in order to win the endorsement.

However, for the fourth ballot, the candidate with the lowest amount of votes will be removed from subsequent ballots.

— 1:29 p.m. —

Results from the third ballot of the Minnesota Republican Party’s endorsement for governor are in.

1. Lisa Demuth: 41.5% (807 votes)
2. Kendall Qualls: 35.9% (698 votes)
3. Mike Lindell: 22.1% (429 votes)

Any candidate that does not reach 20% on this round will not advance to the fourth round of balloting. As such, all three candidates will be on the fourth ballot. A candidate needs 60% of the vote in order to receive the endorsement.

— 1:17 p.m. —

Lisa Demuth and her running mate, Ryan Wilson, also addressed the convention again.

Wilson touted his business experience and Demuth’s experience in government.

Demuth said she can deliver for Republicans. She said she is “pro-life from conception to natural death.”

— 1:14 p.m. —

In his remarks, Mike Lindell said he was banned from local Republican party events. He said he was banned from a televised debate that occurred a few days ago.

Lindell is not abiding by the endorsement.

He asked for the convention’s endorsement and said Republicans cannot waste time leading up to the August primary.

— 1:10 p.m. —

Qualls addressed the convention again. He and his running mate, Brian Nicholson, pushed back against attacks that have reportedly been leveled against Nicholson.

They did not say specifically what attacks they were referring to.

— 12:59 p.m. —

After two ballots, Lisa Demuth, Kendall Qualls, and Mike Lindell are the three remaining candidates for the GOP endorsement for governor.

Candidates will now be given some time to talk to delegates on the floor and then address the entire convention.

— 12:57 p.m. —

Results from the second ballot of the Minnesota Republican Party’s endorsement for governor are in.

1. Lisa Demuth: 35.5% (674 votes)
2. Kendall Qualls: 33.7% (640 votes)
3. Mike Lindell: 19.6% (371 votes)
4. Patrick Knight: 10.9% (206 votes)

Any candidate that does not reach 15% on this round will not advance to the third round of balloting. As such, Knight will not be on the next ballot.

— 12:37 p.m. —

Results from the first ballot of the Minnesota Republican Party’s endorsement for governor are in.

1. Lisa Demuth: 32.6% (660 votes)
2. Kendall Qualls: 30.2% (610 votes)
3. Mike Lindell: 18.4% (373 votes)
4. Patrick Knight: 12.7% (257 votes)
5. Phillip Parrish: 3% (60 votes)
6. John Krhin: 2.8% (57 votes)

Any candidate that does not reach 10% will not advance to the next round of balloting. As such, Parrish and Krhin will not be on the second ballot.

— 12:18 p.m. —

Candidates have finished their remarks. Balloting will begin in roughly 10 minutes. Based the mood of the room, Lisa Demuth appears to have the advantage.

— 12:14 p.m. —

Kendall Qualls just finished addressing the convention. He is a retired business executive.

Qualls was introduced by his wife, Sheila Qualls, and his running mate, Brian Nicholson. Qualls’ children brought a historic Minnesota state flag on stage and the crowd cheered.

Qualls walked on stage to “Don’t Stop,” a song by Fleetwood Mac that was famously Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign anthem.

Qualls touted “traditional Christian values” and criticized fraud.

He slammed Rep. Ilhan Omar in his speech and said she is “a complete disgrace to the State of Minnesota and the United States of America.”

Qualls talked about his campaign’s “Contract with Minnesota” which includes voter ID. He said he is a candidate that offers a “bold new vision for Minnesota.”

— 11:56 a.m. —

Lisa Demuth just finished speaking. She is the speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Demuth was introduced by GOP State Rep. Walter Hudson and Ryan Wilson. Wilson is Demuth’s choice for lieutenant governor.

There was big applause when Demuth took the stage — the loudest applause for any candidate so far.

Demuth said she is the only candidate that’s “a tested fighter and proven winner.” She said her leadership ended DFL control of state government.

She talked about how she cut state government spending and removed illegal aliens from a Minnesota healthcare program.

Demuth said she would end “the rampant fraud” and “oppressively high taxes.”

— 11:40 a.m. —

Mike Lindell just finished speaking. He is the founder of MyPillow. Lindell opened his presentation with a video of old clips of President Donald Trump praising Lindell.

Lindell walked onto stage while “I’m Still Standing” by Elton John played over the speakers.

Lindell talked about his past addiction and building MyPillow. He also said he spent millions on helping others out of addiction.

He also talked about the “lawfare” he has faced and said he “will never give up.”

Lindell said he is not abiding by the endorsement. He cited polling data in that decision and was critical of the endorsement process.

He called Lisa Demuth “the establishment choice.”

Lindell said he can win and he can raise money. He asked the delegates for their endorsement.

— 11:24 a.m. —

Phillip Parrish just finished addressing the convention. He is a former Navy intelligence officer.

Parrish opened with a prayer. In his remarks, he said “a criminal syndicate has had a boot on our neck for too long.”

He slammed Democrats and Republicans in power during his speech.

— 11:16 a.m. —

John Krhin just finished speaking to the convention. He is an ordained minister.

Krhin said God called him to run for governor of Minnesota on the day Charlie Kirk was assassinated.

He criticized former U.S. President Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” and said Minnesota has failed to accept that God rules in the affairs of men.

Krhin criticized the fraud in the state and said it is worse than most have heard. He said he is calling for an investigation into the fraud and it could amount to $40 billion.

He asked the convention: “Do you hear the call?” Then a horn played over the speakers. The Battle Hymn of the Republic played as he ended his remarks.

— 11:00 a.m. —

Patrick Knight is addressing the convention. He is a former U.S. Marine and CEO.

Knight says Amy Klobuchar is “beatable.” He said the status quo in Minnesota is “planted firmly on the left,” and Minnesotans want change.

Knight says Minnesota does not need a “politician,” and instead needs a leader who “will turn this state around.”

He said he will fight for people that want accountability for the fraud that has gone on in the state. He said the Republicans need to lead the state.

Knight said he is a “steady conservative.”

— 10:40 a.m. —

The convention is about to hear from candidates for governor. Each candidate will be given 15 minutes to address the convention.

— 10:25 a.m. —

Big applause when Lisa Demuth’s name was invoked by State Rep. Harry Niska during his speech. The response from the crowd could be an indicator of Demuth’s strength with the delegates.

— 10:23 a.m. —

Minnesota Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson and members of his caucus addressed the convention.

State Rep. Harry Niska, the deputy leader of the GOP Caucus in the Minnesota House of Representatives, is addressing the convention now.

The House GOP Caucus got a standing ovation from the crowd and a lot of applause. House Republicans were responsible for blocking many DFL priorities in the Minnesota Legislature this year.

The endorsement process for governor should begin shortly.

— 9:43 a.m. —

The convention announced there are 2,191 delegates and alternates who have checked in to vote today. That is the total voting strength of the convention.

Convention Chair Danny Nadeau announced that they will begin handing out the electronic clickers. He said that process could take an hour.

Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach is addressing the convention now.

— 9:38 a.m. —

The convention just voted to stand and observe a moment of silence for Derek Chauvin. The moment of silence was observed immediately after that vote and was brief.

— 9:14 a.m. —

There appears to be a lot more Demuth signs and volunteers than the other campaigns. Phillip Parrish and Lisa Demuth were greeting people in the lobby as they entered.

— 9:08 a.m. —

Day two of the Minnesota Republican state convention is here. Delegates are currently filing into the convention hall.

The convention will begin with a new credentials report to establish a quorum and count the number of seated delegates.

The endorsement for governor should be begin after that. That endorsement could go for many rounds, and we could be in for a long day.

 

Luke Sprinkel

Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.

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