{"id":17089,"date":"2025-12-24T17:02:06","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T17:02:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wed-be-cooked-trump-lindell-test-minnesota-gops-optimism\/"},"modified":"2025-12-24T17:02:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T17:02:06","slug":"wed-be-cooked-trump-lindell-test-minnesota-gops-optimism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wed-be-cooked-trump-lindell-test-minnesota-gops-optimism\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We\u2019d be cooked\u2019: Trump, Lindell test Minnesota GOP\u2019s optimism"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Minnesota has been the white whale for Republicans in the Trump era. And 2026 could be the year they finally break through \u2014 if President Donald Trump and one of the most prolific peddlers of conspiracy theories about the 2020 election don\u2019t sink their chances.<\/p>\n

Republicans are growing optimistic about their chances of unseating Democratic Gov. Tim Walz next year, as he seeks a historic third term. But Trump\u2019s increasingly caustic attacks on Walz and disparagement of Minnesota\u2019s Somali community \u2014 and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell\u2019s entrance into the gubernatorial race \u2014 could hurt Republicans\u2019 chances of regaining ground in the state, some party strategists argue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the president comes in with a flamethrower and just throws that type of rhetoric, there’s no oxygen, and there’s no space for the Republican to offer suggestions and to be thoughtful in that space, because the rhetoric of the president just paints them into a corner,\u201d said Michael Brodkorb, a former deputy chair of the Minnesota GOP who backed the Democratic ticket in 2024.<\/p>\n

Republicans have insisted they can be competitive statewide in the blue-leaning Minnesota ever since Trump lost Minnesota by less than 2 points in 2016. But since then, winning the state has beguiled<\/a> both the president \u2014 who faced a 7-point loss in 2020 and a 4-point loss in 2024 \u2014 and Republicans in other statewide races, including two fairly comfortable wins for Walz in 2018 and 2022.<\/p>\n

Still, Republicans see an opportunity to win back the Minnesota governor\u2019s seat for the first time since 2006 by hammering Walz, who is running despite scrutiny into his oversight of state benefits and a star turn as the Democratic vice presidential nominee that put him in the crosshairs of Republicans across the country.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Trump has also used the arrests of some Somali immigrants in federal fraud cases to broadly characterize the state\u2019s Somali population as criminals \u2014 leaning on his trademark use of divisive rhetoric that some Republicans worry will fall flat.<\/p>\n

That risk, insiders warn, could be exacerbated if Lindell, a Trump ally<\/a>, wins the Republican nomination.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d be cooked,\u201d said Dustin Grage, a Minnesota Republican strategist. \u201cI\u2019d be moving to Florida very shortly. We would lose pretty badly if Mike Lindell were to get the nomination.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those close to the president strenuously disagree, arguing the state remains on the map. House GOP Whip Tom Emmer, the most high-profile Minnesota Republican and an ally of the president, said he\u2019s spoken to Trump about the governor\u2019s race and is confident that any of the 13 Republicans seeking the party\u2019s nomination could defeat Walz.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should be able to beat Tim Walz with a dog,\u201d Emmer told Blue Light News in an interview. <\/p>\n

The White House declined to comment. At a rally in North Carolina on Friday, Trump praised Lindell and said he \u201cdeserves to be the governor of Minnesota.\u201d <\/p>\n

Walz faces a tricky path to reelection, with no Minnesota governor winning three consecutive terms in the state\u2019s history. That\u2019s been made more difficult by several investigations during his tenure leading the state that revealed a ring of alleged fraudsters siphoning money from public programs. In 2022, federal prosecutors charged dozens of people for pocketing $250 million from a federally funded child nutrition program overseen by the Minnesota Department of Education during the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

The massive scope of the fraud allegations (the Justice Department called it<\/a> the \u201clargest Covid-19 fraud scheme in the United States\u201d) triggered a state audit that found the Walz administration \u201cdid not effectively exercise its authority\u201d to prevent the fraud.<\/p>\n

In September, federal prosecutors charged eight people<\/a> with defrauding a Minnesota housing and health benefits program of millions of dollars by submitting inflated and fake reimbursement claims. Six additional people were charged for participating in the scheme in December. That same month, a defendant previously charged in the pandemic program fraud pleaded guilty to attempting to steal $14 million<\/a> from a Minnesota health care program that offers services to children with autism.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors have broadened their inquiry<\/a> into benefits fraud in the state to investigate billions of dollars in flagged billings of 14 public programs supported by Medicaid. <\/p>\n

In response to a request for comment to a Walz spokesperson, Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chair Richard Carlbom said in a statement that Walz \u201cheads into reelection with a record focused squarely on working people and kitchen-table issues.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the GOP clown-car primary remains consumed by infighting and loyalty tests for Donald Trump, Minnesota families are falling behind as Republicans unleash higher grocery prices, skyrocketing health care bills, and giant tax breaks for billionaires,\u201d Carlbom said. \u201cMinnesotans see the difference \u2014 a governor delivering for working families, or Republicans delivering loyalty to Donald Trump and a Washington agenda that puts billionaires first.\u201d<\/p>\n

In recent weeks, Trump has ramped up his efforts to link Walz to the abuse of government programs \u2014 while using incendiary rhetoric directed at the governor and the Somali community. In a social media post<\/a> on Thanksgiving, he called Walz \u201cseriously retarded\u201d and accused Somali refugees of seeking to \u201cprey\u201d on Minnesotans. And at an early December rally in Pennsylvania, he again denigrated the Somali community while discussing \u201cthe great big Minnesota scam with one of the dumbest governors ever in history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emmer, who said he spoke with Trump about the governor\u2019s race as early as July, said he believes the president recognizes an opportunity in Walz\u2019s vulnerability. \u201cI think the president knows that Tim Walz is the weakest he’s ever been in his political career,\u201d Emmer said.<\/p>\n

Former Minnesota House Speaker Kurt Daudt, a Republican, said the fraud investigations are part of the risk for Walz in seeking a third consecutive term.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you can lay out a case that, \u2018Well, you’ve been elected now for eight years, and you haven’t fixed these problems,\u2019 or \u2018You haven’t accomplished what you said you were going to\u2019 \u2026 it kind of makes it an easier case to say, \u2018Maybe it’s time for someone new,\u2019\u201d Daudt said.<\/p>\n

But the rhetoric Trump is using to highlight the fraud may reframe the issue to the detriment of Walz\u2019s Republican opponent, said Brodkorb,the former party official. He believes Minnesotans are eager to weigh ideas on immigration policy and how to tackle abuse of public programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem is when the president comes in and says things like, \u2018Everyone in the entire Somali community is garbage,\u2019\u201d Brodkorb said.<\/p>\n

Emmer, who adamantly defended Trump\u2019s approach and his rhetoric attacking both Walz and the Somali community, credited him with shining a light on the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he hadn’t said it exactly the way it is, and if he hadn’t been so out there direct, guess what? Nobody would have covered it,\u201d Emmer said.<\/p>\n

The barrage directed at Walz and the state \u2014 including attacks from Trump allies, targeted probes from Cabinet officials and an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis \u2014 underscores the governor\u2019s newfound national prominence since campaigning as former Vice President Kamala Harris\u2019 running mate in last year\u2019s presidential race.<\/p>\n

Walz has emerged as a vocal critic<\/a> of the second Trump administration, prompting a feud between the two. After a Democratic lawmaker was killed by a gunman and a second was seriously injured earlier this year, Trump said he would not \u201cwaste time\u201d calling<\/a> the \u201cwhacked out\u201d governor.<\/p>\n

Walz\u2019s growing national profile both makes him a high-profile target in the 2026 midterms worthy of trying to defeat, GOP strategists say \u2014 but Trump\u2019s intense focus on the race could also backfire given the state\u2019s political makeup.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving Donald Trump being active in the race for a particular Republican may not be helpful, but it would be extremely helpful to raise the attention on Tim Walz and his record here in the state,\u201d Daudt said.<\/p>\n

And if Trump\u2019s ends up throwing his weight behind Lindell \u2014 who conspired with Trump in 2020 to advance false claims that the presidential election was stolen \u2014 Republicans worry that could give Walz a clearer path to reelection.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf [Lindell] is the candidate, that\u2019s what the election will be about,\u201d Daudt said. \u201cIt’ll definitely be easier for Walz to make the election about Trump if Mike Lindell is the candidate. No question.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump, who continues to claim the 2020 election was rigged, touted Lindell\u2019s efforts to reverse the election results at the North Carolina rally, and empathized with how Lindell \u201csuffered\u201d as a result. <\/p>\n

“He was just a guy that said, \u2019This election was so crooked, it was so rigged.\u2019 He fought like hell,” Trump told his supporters.<\/p>\n

Lindell\u2019s campaign did not respond to requests for comment. <\/p>\n

Some Minnesota Republicans hope that the party will back a more moderate candidate that can highlight Walz\u2019s vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n

But Emmer said candidates should do what they can to win the endorsement of the hundreds of highly engaged party activists who serve as delegates at the party\u2019s nominating convention next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m going to tell you the way you win this race. You go run your race to get an endorsement,\u201d Emmer said. \u201cAs soon as you are the endorsed Republican candidate, you have won the primary in August, you are going to win the governor’s race.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Minnesota has been the white whale for Republicans in the Trump era. And 2026 could be the year they finally break through \u2014 if President Donald Trump and one of the most prolific peddlers of conspiracy theories about the 2020 election don\u2019t sink their chances. Republicans are growing optimistic about their chances of unseating Democratic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17089\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}