Demuth Launches GOP Bid; Could Be First Woman Governor

Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R–Cold Spring, formally launched a campaign in early November for the Republican nomination for governor and said she will challenge incumbent Gov. Tim Walz in the 2026 general election. Demuth is a Stearns County native who began her political career as a write‑in ROCORI school board member, was named USA TODAY’s 2025 Minnesota Woman of the Year, and made history as the first Black lawmaker and first Republican woman to serve as Minnesota House speaker. Her campaign emphasizes rooting out fraud and “wasteful” spending, cracking down on crime, lowering costs and taxes, boosting student test scores while opposing what she calls divisive classroom ideology, investing in roads and bridges over light‑rail, and loosening housing regulations to spur development. She is touting bipartisan work as speaker — including a two‑year budget in a tied Legislature — as evidence of electability and must first win a crowded GOP primary that includes Dr. Scott Jensen, Kendall Qualls and Rep. Kristin Robbins before facing well‑funded Democratic incumbent Tim Walz.