COLD SORING, Minn. — The highest-ranking Republican in Minnesota government, House Speaker Lisa Demuth is taking on incumbent Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, who is seeking a third term. Demuth made her announcement in a campaign video. She declared she would make Minnesota a place where families and businesses can thrive. Demuth has been in the Minnesota House since 2019. She is from Cold Spring, population, 4,100, which is 18 miles southwest of St. Cloud. In 2023 became the GOP House minority leader. In 2025 she took over as House speaker in a power-sharing arrangement in the evenly split House. Demuth’s candidacy shakes up the field of Republicans who earlier announced for the GOP nomination against Walz:
> Scott Jensen, a Chaska physician and anti-vaxer who lost to Walz in 2022.
> Brad Kohler, a retired martial arts expert and professional wrestler. From the south Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington
> Phillip Parrish, a church and school administrator in Kenyon.
> Kendall Qualls, A former healthcare industry executive. Lives in the west Minneapolis exurb of Medina.
> Kristin Robbin, a state legislator from the northwest Minneapolis suburb of Maple Grove.
On the main question facing all Republican candidates in the 2026 election — their view on the Trump presidency — Demuth demurred: “He is delivering on what he said he would do.” Pressed further by one interviewer, Demuth said: “One of the best things that I actually see is the fact that he has secured our borders, which, with Minnesota having a northern border, is making our communities and our states safer.” Would she value Trump’s endorsement of candidacy? “Yes.”
Demuth. Four-term state legislator. Earlier on the Cold Spring-Rockville School Board. She is a real estate agent and co-owns commercial property. Holds degrees in business from Southwest Minnesota State and St. Thomas. Age: 58.
Electoral record
2018: Demuth won House District 13-A with 61%.
2020: Won with 71%.
2022: Won with 74%.
2024: Won with 75%
Verbatim
Demuth, summing up her platform in a KEYC interview: “As governor I will work to finding reductions in our state budget, getting rid of fraud that we have seen under Governor Walz explode. I would make sure that we were eliminating fraud from the start — as opposed to just finally starting to prosecute some cases. I would make sure that our roads and our bridges are strong across the state, that people, regardless of where they are from — the northern part of our state to the southern part and each one of our borders on either side — that we would be able to succeed in our lives. Our kids in Minnesota deserve to have an excellent education, and only half of them can read at grade level, and Governor Walz was a teacher. That is unconscionable. I would make sure that our kids could succeed, that schools could provide the basics that kids need, and that businesses aren’t going to be burdened with mandates that make it difficult to even stay in business here in the state.”