Mike Lindell is a former drug addict turned pillow salesman who has no experience in political office. He has spent the last six years and millions of dollars pushing election conspiracy theories, even claiming that the “devil” stole the 2020 election.

Lindell is now running for governor of Minnesota and already has the endorsement of President Donald Trump.

“Mike is going to be AMAZING!!! He really loves Minnesota, as do I, and wants to bring it out of oblivion and shame,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Over the weekend, Trump praised Lindell in person at a fundraiser, and he praised Lindell again on Tuesday, writing, “Mike Lindell would make a GREAT Governor. He loves Minnesota with all his heart.”

While polls show Lindell the clear favorite to win the Republican nomination in the Aug. 11 primary, Trump’s endorsement was far from welcomed by the Minnesota Republican Party.

“We were surprised by President Trump’s endorsement of Mike Lindell,” Alex Plechash, chairman of the Minnesota Republican Party, wrote in a statement posted on the party’s website hours after Trump’s initial endorsement. Plechash went on to criticize Lindell’s credentials:

“When things got tough with Tim Walz, Mike Lindell left Minnesota for Texas,” the party chairman wrote. “Now he wants Minnesota Republicans to overlook his serious financial baggage, public records showing tens of thousands of dollars in delinquent property taxes, significant electability concerns and unanswered questions surrounding his running mate. Minnesota cannot afford to nominate a ticket that gives Democrats an easy target.” Lindell reportedly owed tens of thousands of dollars in property tax debts in Minnesota (which he says he has already paid) and was not registered to vote in the state until this week.

While Lindell’s chances of winning the primary are high, analysts and the local Republican Party believe she has little chance of challenging likely Democratic nominee Amy Klobuchar in the November general election. And the showdown over Lindell’s endorsement highlights a challenge for local Republican parties whose elections are at odds with Trump, whom they cannot afford to anger. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Plechash’s statement.

“I’d like to think this was as simple as the party saying they don’t want Lindell, but they can’t say that in a way that would anger the president,” Blois Olson, a Minnesota political analyst, tells WIRED. “That’s the reality because not only are they pissing off the president, they’re pissing off Trump’s most ardent supporters, MAGA Minnesotans, who they need in November. It’s threading a needle, which makes it very challenging.”

Lindell rose to prominence on the national political stage in the wake of the 2020 election, when he became one of the most vocal proponents and funders of the baseless conspiracy theory that Trump’s vote had been stolen. Over the course of the next few years, Lindell funded activist groups, organized conferences, and produced a film, all exposing voter fraud. By 2022, Lindell said he had spent $40 million of his own money on the cause.

Lindell was also sued by voting machine companies Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic for defamation over allegations that their machines were rigged. While the Dominion lawsuit eventually ended with a settlement agreement (with both sides paying their own fees), the Smartmatic lawsuit continues. Lindell’s legal costs ran into the millions.

Instead of being welcomed by the local party, Lindell says the Minnesota Republican Party has done everything it can to stop his campaign, including not providing him with a list of delegates and blocking him from attending debates and forums. Lindell says he’s not sure why exactly the Minnesota Republican Party is doing this.