Republicans were already unlikely to win Minnesota’s governor’s race this year. President Donald Trump is deeply unpopular in the state, and Democrats have a strong candidate in Sen. Amy Klobuchar. But now he has all but ensured the race will be off the board for the GOP.

On Wednesday, Trump endorsed conspiracy theorist and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell a little less than a month ahead of the Aug. 11 Republican primary.

“Mike Lindell, the ‘Pillow Man,’ and one of America’s greatest and most hard working Patriots, is running to be GOVERNOR OF MINNESOTA, replacing one of the worst and most incompetent governors in the history of the U.S.A. Early Primary Voting has begun and, if given the chance, Mike will be SPECTACULAR!!!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “He truly loves Minnesota, as do I, and wants to bring it back from oblivion and embarrassment. He can do it! Nobody has sacrificed more than Mike Lindell in fighting for our country, especially when it comes to Election Integrity. He truly deserves everything he gets – He will MAKE MINNESOTA GREAT AGAIN!!! MIKE LINDELL HAS MY COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT – HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN.”

To state the obvious here, Trump does not love Minnesota. He spent months terrorizing residents in the state with his violent immigration crackdowns. Earlier this year, his federal immigration agents executed two American citizens brave enough to stand up against Trump’s torment.

n February, he also withheld hundreds of millions of Medicaid funding for Minnesota’s poorest residents, jeopardizing their access to medical care, all as punishment for Minnesota having a large population of Somali immigrants.

And Lindell—who has been hit with millions in legal fees, judgements, and settlements for his role in spreading Trump’s false claims of election fraud—has no shot of winning the governor’s race.

Knowing that Lindell would be an especially weak nominee, the Minnesota Republican Party endorsed a different candidate, Kendall Qualls, a former health care executive. In Minnesota, candidates often drop out of the race when they do not receive their party’s endorsement, but Lindell is declining that route and remaining in the contest.

That said, Trump’s endorsement record for gubernatorial contests this cycle has not been great. Three of his picks have lost their primaries. But Lindell has led in three of the past four public surveys of the primary, meaning Trump’s blessing could cement him as the winner.

If Lindell becomes the nominee, he could jeopardize other Republicans in the state, potentially causing some Republican voters to stay home.

Already, Democrats are targeting GOP Rep. Brad Finstad in Minnesota’s 1st District—a seat Trump won by 12 percentage points, according to The Downballot. Having Lindell at the top of the ticket could help Democrats in that effort.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos