House Speaker Lisa Demuth will run in an August primary election for the Republican Party nomination for governor, reversing course from an earlier pledge to leave the race if not endorsed.
Demuth filed her paperwork with the secretary of state’s office before a news conference planned for 11 a.m. on the Capitol steps.
Tuesday’s announcement comes days after GOP delegates endorsed businessman Kendall Qualls at the party’s convention in Duluth. On Monday, Republican Party Chair Alex Plechash released Republican candidates for governor from prior pledges after the party experienced technical issues and hourslong delays with voting in the race.
Demuth made her announcement on the final day of candidate filing.
Her entry into the primary creates more uncertainty for Republicans as they vie for an open governor’s office — one they haven’t held since early 2011. Qualls and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell are already on the primary ballot along with a few other lesser-known candidates.
In giving unendorsed candidates a pass to carry on, Plechash said it was “because of the unusual circumstances and the confusion caused by the disruption” over voting devices that were called into question.
“Those candidates may make their own decision about whether to continue their campaign to a primary,” he said in a written statement. But, he added, “Only our endorsed candidate for governor, Kendall Qualls, will receive the full support, resources and organizational backing of the state party.”
Former Minnesota Republican Party Chair Ron Carey told MPR News’ Morning Edition that Demuth’s entry into the race could “muddy the waters” but likely wouldn’t knock out the value of the endorsement. Republican primary voters in Minnesota have historically stood by the candidate that delegates endorsed.
“We fought very diligently to make sure that endorsement was the gold standard that candidates would fight for that, and we wouldn't have these battles dragging out into August for the primary,” Carey said of his time as chair from 2005 to 2009. “I would hope that we could have a situation where we could start having unity, because it's going to be an uphill battle to take on Amy Klobuchar in November, and we need to have all Republicans pulling in the same direction.”
Klobuchar, a U.S. senator, won the DFL Party’s endorsement at the state convention in Rochester. There is also a cluster of candidates with minor campaign operations running in the DFL primary.
Gov. Tim Walz dropped his bid for a third term in January.
DFLers have won the past four governor’s races in Minnesota. Tim Pawlenty was the last Republican to hold the office and won his second term in 2006 — marking the last time the GOP won a statewide race in Minnesota.