Tyrant Tim Walz is officially out of the MN Governor race and the dynamics of the race have changed. Walz was considered a weak opponent after national exposure of fraud capitulated into the modern political zeitgeist. Walz has an awful record and is known by many as a habitual liar and a lover of China and Somalia. Tampon Tim’s exit from the race requires GOP candidates to recalibrate, though any Democrat can still have the issue of fraud laid at their doorstep.

13 Republican candidates are running for Governor and two Democrats including perennial candidate Christopher Seymore and another named Bill Gates Jr. (no relation to Microsoft CEO Bill Gates). A4L previously broke down the candidates in the race but wanted to provide Patriots with an updated breakdown to accurately reflect current standings and to give Patriots a one-stop-shop of information. Learn about each of the Republican candidates below shown in alphabetical order:

Peggy Bennett

As seen in previous A4L reporting, Bennett has been in office for over a decade and is a self-described thumb-twiddler. Bennett is the most recent of candidates to announce and is likely having trouble winning over conservative delegates. Bennett scored a pathetic 45.83% on the 2025 A4L Scorecard and has a lifetime score of just 48.65%. Bennett is bringing very little to the table that cannot be found in other Establishment RINO candidates though she will probably differentiate herself using her previous teaching career. It is unlikely that Bennett will be unable to move the needle in this race as most Republicans have no clue she is running.

Lisa Demuth/Ryan Wilson

RINO Speaker Lisa Demuth has an awful legislative record, specifically in 2025 where she cut a deal with Tim Walz behind closed doors to pass the 2nd LARGEST budget in Minnesota history using corrupt, unconstitutional, fraud-ridden omnibus bills. At the beginning of session, Demuth cut a deal with Democrats to seat radical leftist Brad Tabke despite the massive election fraud issues in that district where 21 ballots were trashed and the margin of victory only 14 votes. By certifying Tabke's election certificate and recognizing the Dem's phony swearing-in ceremony, Demuth prevented the GOP from having a real House majority. She voted for every single bill signed into law by Walz in 2025 and passed every single penny of the widespread fraud being uncovered. Demuth killed the Never Again Bill on the House floor and instead propped up RINO Kristin Robbins’ fake version. It appears Lisa Demuth is an empty suit that cares more about political power than pushing conservative political change as evidenced by her pathetic 20.83% score in the 2025 A4L Scorecard. and her unwillingness to sign onto the Never Again Pledge. Demuth participated in the recent Morrison County GOP forum. Demuth selected attorney, businessman, and 2022 GOP Auditor nominee Ryan Wilson as her running mate as an attempt to curry favor with conservative delegates. Many fear that he is engaging in the same kind of political ladder-climbing conservatives have come to despise by playing cover for Lisa Demuth’s liberal legislative record. In addition, Wilson refuses to speak with A4L founder Jake Duesenberg and is seemingly afraid to appear on the Truth Hurts show.

Raul Estrada/Joe Liberty

Raul Estrada is a community and anti-establishment political activist. Estrada is an American Indian who pushes back against the nonsense “Native Studies” that students are learning from “an old white liberal professor with green hair”. Estrada is a constitutional conservative who has signed onto A4L’s Never Again Pledge and has committed to preventing any future Governor from locking our state down covid-style like was done under Tim Walz. Estrada announced immediately during his campaign launch that Joe Kincaid (better known as Joe Liberty) would be his running mate in this race. Kincaid is a known conservative activist and remains active in the MN political scene. While Estrada and Kincaid are lacking in name recognition and mega-donors, they are running an unorthodox campaign that may tap into non-typical GOP voters. Estrada participated in the Morrison County GOP forum and stood out from his competition by wearing overalls.

Dr. Scott Jensen/Phouthaivanh Wilkerson

2022 GOP Governor nominee, Dr. Scott Jensen, has lost an incredible amount of steam since his previous run and has adopted a Ukraine-style campaign color scheme. As seen in previous A4L reporting, Jensen received just EIGHT votes out of 336 State Central delegates during their straw poll. Jensen has flip-flopped a million times over on issues that conservatives consider most critical; Notably, questions concerning the 2nd Amendment and abortion. Jensen previously interned at Planned Parenthood, voted to fund abortion while in the State Senate, claimed he would end abortion in MN, changed his stance in the general election by arguing no Governor can change abortion laws in MN, and has been all over the map again since! Previous A4L reporting even shows how Jensen berated Republican State Senator Glenn Gruenhagen over his conservative positions on abortion and transgender child mutilation. Jensen will also struggle to win over MAGA delegates as he helped promote Trump’s Libertarian opponent in 2020, offered no endorsement for President Trump in the 2024 race, and sucked-up to Somalis as mass fraud became nationally exposed. Jensen will have to rely on the medical freedom community for support despite refusing to sign onto A4L’s Never Again Pledge. On Monday, Jan. 12th, Jensen announced his running mate would be political-unknown Phouthaivanh Wilkerson. Wilkerson is a Dakota County police officer who left Laos in 1979 after her father was imprisoned and executed during the Vietnam War. Wilkerson claims in a campaign video that she looked at all of the candidates and asked Scott Jensen to select her as his running mate. Many conservatives will likely fear that Jensen selected Wilkerson as an attempt to play identity politics considering that she does not appear to have any real political experience. If Jensen had selected Matt Birk to again be his running mate, he likely would be on more conservatives’ radars but with Jensen selecting a political nobody, he may have completely ended his shot at becoming the GOP nominee. Sources tell A4L that Jensen refused to attend the Morrison County GOP forum and did not provide an excuse as to why.

Jeff Johnson

Johnson is a former St. Cloud city councilman and Stearns County Assessor who led some important fights to lower taxes and try to block the mass migration of Somalis into St. Cloud. Johnson does not appear to have a strong, serious campaign and will likely have to rely on Republican voters being under the false assumption that he is the same Jeff Johnson who was the 2014 and 2018 GOP nominee for Governor. Johnson aligned himself with the RINO Establishment by refusing to sign A4L’s Never Again Pledge when he could’ve instead aligned himself with the conservative grassroots.

Patrick Knight

Knight is a Marine veteran who served for over 20 years and retired as a lieutenant colonel. He is the CEO of Waymouth Farms and sells products such as organic nuts, seeds, and dried fruits. The business appears to be successful as online estimates of their annual revenue ranges from $15M to $30.5M. Unfortunately for conservatives, Knight donated Dean Phillips and another Democrat just two days after J6 and has also given $1,800 to Globalist RINO Tom Emmer over the years as seen in previous A4L reporting. Knight’s campaign video launch was bland, noncontroversial, and milque-toast and his campaign priorities are so generic that they could be the platform of any swing district candidate of either party. As seen in a recent Morrison County GOP forum, Knight is pushing his “Big, Beautiful, Basic, Boring Plan” which includes “growing a dynamic economy, make MN affordable again, fix schools by focusing on outcomes, restore the rule of law in public safety, and drive a smaller, smarter state economy.” 

Brad Kohler

Brad Kohler is a former UFC heavyweight professional fighter and small business owner. Kohler has previously run for state senate in SD38, Congress in CD3, and Hennepin County Commissioner. Kohler has previously appeared on The Truth Hurts show multiple times including for his Congressional run, his Governor run with his then running mate Tim Christopher, and again to provide more clarity concerning his felony convictions and comments he made at a local Republican meeting. While Kohler has not broken into the top-tier candidate field, he has garnered support from conservative delegates. Kohler believes his interesting life story shows how hard times can bring redemption and argues he brings a unique perspective to many issues facing Minnesotans including a corrupted judicial system. Brad was the first Governor candidate this cycle to sign the Never Again Pledge and did so at A4L’s ultra-popular Walz Lies state fair booth and was a participant in the Morrison County GOP forum.

John Krhin

Krhin is an Assembly of God Christian minister and is a dedicated pro-life activist. John explains in a campaign video that his father was 60 years old (born in 1892) and his mother was 50 years old when he was born as the youngest of 8 children, highlighting his unique life experience and upbringing. Krhin has 8 children of his own that he and his wife homeschooled and also has 30 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren. In the campaign video, he also touts his blue-collar life including working in northern MN mines, driving trucks for UPS, and being a commercial truck driver for ten years. John is a supporter of the Convention of the States movement to impose Constitutional Amendments such as term limits, fiscal restraints, and reducing federal overreach. Krhin signed A4L’s Never Again Pledge and has committed to protecting the personal liberties of Minnesotans. Many attendees were very impressed with Krhin’s poise and answers during the recent Morrison County GOP forum.

Mike Lindell

Lindell is the most well-known of the GOP candidate field as the CEO of My Pillow and for his dedicated efforts to election integrity. Lindell was a leader in the Stop The Steal movement and has gained the respect of the Grassroots for standing up to corrupt politicians. Anti-freedom Socialists like Keith Ellison and the Biden FBI have done all they can to close My Pillow and put Lindell in prison but he continues to fight on. Lindell recently appeared on The Truth Hurts Show to share his vision and campaign commitments. As a businessman outsider fed up with corrupt politicians on both sides of the aisle, Lindell has become a favorite among many conservative voters. Lindell signed A4L’s Never Again Pledge live at the A4L Christmas party to show Minnesota that he will never allow the state to be locked down under unilateral control ever again. Lindell also participated in the Morrison County GOP forum.

Chris Madel

Madel is an attorney that gained fame through his representation of Trooper Ryan Londregan in the case concerning the shooting of Ricky Cobb (who sped off during a traffic stop). Madel’s Governor campaign has had a rocky start considering many conservatives wrote him off as soon as they learned that Madel is a big time Democrat donor, even going back to John Kerry. As seen in previous A4L reporting, Madel has donated $5,500 to Walz, $8,900 to Joe Biden or his PAC, and $8,800 to Amy Klobuchar (to name a few). Madel has argued that his donations to Democrats helped free his clients, which sounds like a corrupt pay to play scheme and also nonsensical. A Biden donation or a Dean Phillips donation or a Steve Simon donation helped free his legal clients? How would that make any sense?! Of course it doesn’t and Madel’s attempts to appear tough and angry has not been received well by many Republican voters. He did tamper down the anger and was fairly well-received at the recent Morrison County GOP forum. Madel is/was a MPPOA legal defense fund member and as many conservatives know, the MPPOA is pro-gun control, gives awards to swing district fake moderate Democrats, endorses drunk driving Democrats, and fails to represent rank and file officers (which seems to be why the MPPOA lost the ability to represent the Law Enforcement Labor Services, the MN State Patrol Troopers, and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Agents Association in December last year). Interestingly, Madel remains Alpha News’ lawyer despite him running for Governor and having an ultra-liberal political donation record. Madel has refused to sign onto A4L's Never Again Pledge. UPDATE: Chris Madel has dropped out of the race.

Phil Parrish

Parrish is an administrator for Divine Mercy Catholic School and also has a teaching background. Parrish is a Navy veteran who reached the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Parrish has run for office several times including U.S. Senate in 2014, Governor in 2018, MNGOP Chair in 2021, and SOS briefly in 2022. Parrish attributes his previous losses and battles with grassroots liberty conservatives to his previous anger and attitude which he feels he has corrected. Parrish previously was on The Truth Hurts Show and has garnered more attention in this run than his previous runs. Despite posting AI memes with the Incredible Hulk behind him or a video of himself turning into super-hero Ironman, Parrish outperformed Kendall Qualls in head-to-head KSTP polling against Tim Walz and has appealed to different types of voters. Parrish has signed A4L’s Never Again Pledge and committed to protecting the individual liberties of Minnesotans by removing unilateral Emergency Powers authority. Parrish also participated in the recent Morrison County GOP forum.

Kendall Qualls

Qualls is a U.S. Army veteran, previous healthcare executive for Johnson & Johnson, and previously ran for Governor in 2022. The 2022 convention went multiple rounds when Mike Murphy accused Quall’s team of offering him the Lt. Gov. position then taking the offer back. Many instead suspected Qualls would select pro-abortion Michelle Tafoya since she chaired his campaign and he refused to announce who he would run with. Qualls claims he will abide by the party endorsement despite him not immediately endorsing Jensen after losing the delegate vote to him and Qualls endorsed RINO He/Him Joe Frasier for U.S. Senate in 2024 after Frasier lost the endorsement to Royce White. Qualls’ 2022 campaign was funded by healthcare/pharmaceutical mega-donor David Fraunshush and Qualls changed his position on Emergency Powers THREE times on his website. Similarly to Scott Jensen, Qualls is considered to be a very weak and underwhelming debater that may drop the ball, though he was generally well-received in the recent Morrison County GOP forum. When he ran for Congress against Dean Phillips in 2020, he wore useless face masks everywhere on the campaign trail. Qualls also gave the introduction speech for corrupt David Hann in the 2021 MNGOP Chair race against Phil Parrish, proving he is totally aligned with the Establishment. Despite looking like a fool, Qualls has put on his Indiana Jones-style Governor hat on the campaign trail. Unsurprisingly, Qualls has again refused to sign A4L’s Never Again Pledge. Qualls did win the 2025 State Central straw poll, highlighting that he has more early momentum in this campaign than his previous run despite performing the WORST in head to head KSTP polling against Walz.

Kristin Robbins

Robbins is a State Representative and the author of the FAKE Never Again Bill which watered down A4L and Erik Mortensen’s bill to end unilateral Emergency Power authority. Robbins’ bill actually INCREASED unilateral Governor Emergency Powers by increasing the time for the Emergency from 5 days to 14 days! The bill additionally did nothing to stop future mask or “vaccine” mandates. Unsurprisingly, Robbins has refused to sign A4L's Never Again Pledge. Robbins was the Neocon Nikki Haley 2024 campaign chair for MN and openly opposed President Trump’s candidacy. Robbins has received support from Haley in the MN Governor race with multiple emails/texts from Haley’s team to fundraise for Robbins where Haley calls Robbins her "secret weapon". Kristin Robbins has failed to generate significant buzz around her campaign and arguably performed the worst in the recent Morrison County GOP forum. She also has received a pathetic 41.67% score in the 2025 A4L Scorecard, showing that she is more likely to vote for the Establishment, big government position than the pro-liberty position more than half of the time. Robbins voted for awful bills such as increasing Keith Ellison's budget while Ellison is constantly suing the Trump Admin (SF3045), the Health omnibus bill that includes abortion/Planned Parenthood funding (HF2435) and giving our state $700M of debt (HF18).

Conclusion

The crowded GOP field of candidates for MN Governor highlights that there is heavy momentum against Democrats for imposing a radical agenda on our state. Walz had to drop out of the race in disgrace and rumors are floating around that he will resign from office entirely. It remains to be seen who will be running on the Democrat side and Republicans will likely have to prepare for anything. A4L will remain the cutting-edge source for MN Patriots and will never waiver in our mission to protect liberty for the next generation.