Mike Lindell Steps Down as MyPillow CEO to Run for Governor

The Pillow Man is going into politics full time.

Mike Lindell announced Tuesday he's stepping down as CEO of MyPillow to focus entirely on his campaign for governor of Minnesota. He's keeping his board seat, though he has reduced his ownership stake in the company to a minority position. But the day-to-day is done.

"I'm stepping down as CEO of MyPillow so I can devote 100% of my time and energy to my campaign for Governor of Minnesota," he said in a statement. "I'm all in."

James "Jim" Furlong, who previously served as MyPillow's president from 2004 to 2019, is returning to take over as CEO, while Justin Butler is joining the company as CFO. Lindell framed the handoff as a matter of priorities. "After 22 years of leading MyPillow, I know the company is ready for its next chapter and I know Minnesota cannot wait," he said. "This decision is not about walking away. It is about stepping forward to serve."

Trump has already endorsed him, enthusiastically. "Mike Lindell, the 'Pillow Man,' and one of America's greatest and most hard-working Patriots, is running to be GOVERNOR OF MINNESOTA," Trump wrote on Truth Social, taking a shot at current governor Tim Walz in the process, calling him "one of the worst and most incompetent governors in the history of the U.S.A."

The announcement comes just days before Minnesota's Aug. 11 Republican primary, with early voting already underway. A recent KSTP/SurveyUSA poll put Lindell in the lead at 35%, nine points ahead of House Speaker Lisa Demuth, with businessman Kendall Qualls trailing at 11%. Lindell's campaign has also drawn scrutiny on two separate fronts: the state GOP has asked Secretary of State Steve Simon to clarify residency rules for gubernatorial candidates amid questions about Lindell's domicile status, and he faces a separate complaint alleging he violated Minnesota campaign law by handing out MyPillows branded with his campaign name at a July Fourth parade.

The Election Denier Running for Election

Here's the part worth sitting with for a second.

Lindell entered the race just months after a federal judge ruled he had defamed voting technology company Smartmatic. The ruling, handed down in September 2025, found that Lindell had made 51 specific false statements claiming Smartmatic's machines helped rig the 2020 election for Biden.

Fifty-one. The judge was specific.

"The Court concludes that, based on the record presented, no reasonable trier of fact could find that any of the statements at issue are true," U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan wrote.

So Lindell spent years insisting elections were stolen. Got taken to court over it. Lost. And then decided to run in one himself.

What's Happened to MyPillow?

The company Lindell is stepping away from looks a lot different than it did five years ago.

MyPillow built its name on infomercials and a massive retail footprint. Then Lindell went all-in on 2020 election denial, and the retailers started dropping the brand one by one — Bed Bath & Beyond, Kohl's, Wayfair, and others. Legal bills from the Smartmatic case and an ongoing lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems piled on top of that. Lindell has said publicly the company took a serious financial hit from his political activity.

Now he's handing off the CEO role and heading to the campaign trail. Whether MyPillow can hold together without him running it — given that his personality was basically the whole brand — is genuinely unclear.

Can He Actually Win in Minnesota?

Honestly? It's a long shot.

Minnesota has voted Democratic in every presidential election since 1976. It's the only state that went for Walter Mondale in 1984. Tim Walz, the incumbent, was on the Democratic presidential ticket in 2024. The state isn't exactly primed for a Mike Lindell Republican wave.

Trump's endorsement helps in a primary. A primary in Minnesota is not the same thing as winning Minnesota.

That said — the state has a history of electing people nobody saw coming. Jesse Ventura won the governorship in 1998 as a third-party candidate with no political experience and a professional wrestling career on his resume. Minnesota voters have surprised people before.

But Ventura wasn't dealing with a federal defamation ruling from six months before he launched his campaign. Lindell is walking into this with some significant baggage that goes beyond typical political opposition research.

He's all in though. He said so himself.

Curious for more stories that keep you informed and entertained? From the latest headlines to everyday insights, YourLifeBuzz has more to explore. Dive into what’s next.