MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has refused to pay for a recount in his campaign for governor after claiming the election was riddled with fraud. This comes after the election denier squandered millions of dollars of his fortune in a quest to prove President Donald Trump won the 2020 election.
Lindell's campaign announced Monday that it was withholding the money, hours before the 11:59 p.m. cutoff set by Minnesota election officials, KSTP reported.
The campaign said the $825,000 was ready to wire but would not be sent, citing a dispute over which ballots would be counted, CBS Minnesota reported.
"I'm not paying for what they're calling a recount," Lindell said in a phone interview with MPR News.
"It's not just about us two," Lindell told the station.
State officials planned to record only the votes for Lindell and House Speaker Lisa Demuth (R-MN) by name, placing the other five Republicans in a single column, the campaign said in a release.
"The actions taken by the Secretary of State put Mike Lindell in an untenable position," the campaign said in the same statement.
"Our office provided the contingent recount plan to Mr. Lindell after it was approved by the State Canvassing Board on August 18. The plan follows state law and administrative rules on recount procedures, and is consistent with plans of its kind for the past two decades," spokesperson Cassondra Knudson said, rejecting that account in a statement to CBS Minnesota.
Lindell had demanded the recount himself on Aug. 19, after losing the primary to Demuth by roughly 45,000 votes, NBC News reported.
He has cited what he calls anomalies in election-night reporting, but state officials have not vetted those accusations and have found no fraud, the Star Tribune reported.
"Even if this recount and audit does not overturn my election for governor of Minnesota, I believe this is the gateway to getting rid of these electronic voting machines," Lindell told NBC News.
Lindell said he is seeking an emergency court order, MPR News reported. Demuth will face Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) in the Nov. 3 general election, according to the Star Tribune.