Shockwaves of political upsets rippled through Minnesota’s primaries, as progressive candidate Peggy Flangan clutches her win over Angie Craig for the dems, and former sportscaster Michele Tafoya triumphs over Adam Schwarze in the GOP contest, setting the stage for November’s Senate election.

Lindell Refused to Concede

None were more upset over the election results than MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, who lost the GOP nomination for governor to House Speaker Lisa Demuth by over 10 percentage points. Lindell refused to concede the governor race, citing irregularities in the vote totals.

Lindell took to his live network, LindellTV, to contest the outcome of the race, saying, “ Of the last 13,000 votes, we gained 5,000. If we put that together, we got 10,000, and the rest got 3,000.”

A reporter questioned Lindell whether he’d concede following the Associated Press calling the race. Lindell responded, “Why would I listen to the AP? There are 265,000 votes left to count. I will not give up this race until the votes are counted.”

Lindell, endorsed by President Donald Trump, has a history of denying election results, as he stood by Trump’s claims to reject the 2020 White House results in favor of President Joe Biden’s victory.

Mike Lindell
Credit: Mike Lindell

In a rare loss by a candidate with the President’s endorsement, many feared Lindell faced an uphill battle to secure the governorship in November. A Lindell supporter opted to vote for Demuth, worried that his preferred candidate's controversial and polarizing statements undermined his electability.

“I wanted to vote for somebody that at least has a chance,” said Jim Busche.

Demuth will face U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who defeated six others to win the Democratic nomination in November.

Progressive Wave Flowing

Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan won the Democratic Senate nomination over U.S Rep Angie Craig, bolstering the progressive wave within the party.

“For months now, I have been telling you that this campaign was about the many versus the money,” Flanagan said as she celebrated her victory in Minneapolis. “Well, guess what? The many just won.”

Democrats have maintained control over Minnesota’s Senate seat for over 20 years; however, Republican hopefuls see Flanagan’s win Tuesday as a prime opportunity to flip the seat come November.

READ MORE:Minnesota's Primaries Set to Test Party Directions

Craig, who leaned moderate, was backed by established party leaders, notably Chuck Schumer, and was seen as a more stable choice to hold the Senate seat. Now, Flanagan’s promise of "radical change," including "ripping apart" federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement and expanding Medicare to cover everyone, may cause enough friction to allow her opponent, Tafoya, to walk away with a win.

Tafoya, a former sports newscaster, had leveraged her notoriety to win the Republican nomination, defeating former Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze, earning 52.1% of the vote to Schwarze’s 24%.

Republicans firmly believe Tafoya will be the strongest candidate to take on Flanagan.

The Senate race will be an exciting one, as Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate majority. Flanagan will seek to maintain Democratic control of the seat, while Tafoya yearns to flip it, increasing the Republican lead.