Who is Lisa Demuth and what is Demuth running on in the 2026 Minnesota Governor race?

Lisa Demuth is the Republican candidate for Minnesota governor. Speaker of the Minnesota House since 2025; state representative since 2019; former Cold Spring school board member; first Republican woman nominated for MN governor. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026.

The race

• The seat: Open seat (Gov. Tim Walz abandoned his re-election bid in Jan 2026 amid fraud scrutiny).
• Rating: Likely D (Decision Desk HQ, Sept 30, 2026).
• Polling: Klobuchar 47, Demuth 40 (SurveyUSA, Sept 16, 2026); co/efficient Sept 15: Klobuchar 47, Demuth 45.

Why Demuth is behind

• Klobuchar has led every poll listed, though the margin narrowed from 16 points in August to 2 to 7 points in mid-September.
• Klobuchar is a well-known three-term senator with a large money advantage ($9.3M raised by July) over Demuth.
• She has addressed the fraud scandal directly with a Day 1 top-to-bottom audit pledge.
• Demuth’s opening: she beat the Trump-endorsed Mike Lindell and is running on the fraud issue and tax cuts.

What Demuth is running on

• Taxes. Wants to cut income taxes.
• Seniors. Would end state taxes on Social Security benefits.
• Fraud. Fraud-prevention plan with a ‘fraud czar’ appointed through the Lieutenant Governor’s office.
• Social safety net. Focuses on fraud in Minnesota’s social-services programs.

The other candidates

• Amy Klobuchar (D)

Every race

See every Senate and governor race on the ballot, with each candidate’s chance of winning: the 2026 midterms at a glance.