Gubernatorial candidate Lisa Demuth turned compromise into legislative wins as Minnesota speaker. GOP activists may not reward it

MINNEAPOLIS - Speaker Lisa Demuth this week used her negotiating skills and narrow hold on power in the Minnesota House to help forge a complex bipartisan deal.

But as she campaigns for governor, the Cold Spring Republican now faces a tougher challenge: selling the deal to some conservative voters demanding change, not compromise.

The GOP is set to endorse a candidate for governor at the party convention in Duluth later this month, where delegates will decide between Demuth and several other candidates, including retired health care executive Kendall Qualls and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.

Both have criticized Demuth's dealmaking in the tied House over the past two years, saying she didn't go far enough to shrink government spending or crack down on fraud in Minnesota's social services programs. The budget announced Wednesday includes a one-time cut to car tab fees and property taxes wanted by Republicans, as well as some anti-fraud measures.

"This is small ball politics instead of big ball," Qualls said in an interview with The Minnesota Star Tribune. "The tab fees could have been permanent instead of temporary."

Navigating this dynamic has been one of Demuth's biggest challenges this session. Unlike Qualls and Lindell, Demuth can actually pass GOP priorities into law and use those victories in her campaign. But she also must work with Democrats to get anything done in the closely divided Legislature.

The state House is evenly split between Republicans and Democrats while the DFL holds the governor's office and a one-vote majority in the state Senate. Demuth told reporters Thursday that even in a divided government, the budget agreement "gives that affordability relief for Minnesotans that people have been desperate for."

"We are sending a clear message to Minnesotans that, first of all, we value your tax dollars and we don't want them going out in fraud and waste anymore," Demuth said. "That is because of the push of House Republicans and House and Senate leaders."

Tim Lindberg, a political science professor at the University of Minnesota Morris, said the budget agreement is a "true bipartisan compromise" in an era of increased partisanship in government.

But he said both parties are already highlighting different parts of the deal to their own voters to say "we also got things for you."

Many Republicans are buying that message. On Wednesday, the chairman of the Minnesota GOP praised Demuth, saying in a news release that she and other House GOP leaders "delivered real results for Minnesota taxpayers."

"This is what responsible government looks like: reduce costs for families, protect critical care, and demand accountability for how taxpayer dollars are spent," he said. "After years of one-party DFL control, runaway spending, fraud, and higher taxes, the message is clear: the days of blank checks and no accountability are ending."

House Republicans also succeeded in blocking many of the DFL's top priorities, like new gun regulations or money to help businesses after Trump's immigration crackdown. Republicans were unable to do that when the DFL had full control of state government in 2023 and 2024.

"This deal and the work that we're finishing up over the next few days really puts an exclamation point for Minnesotans on how much better they are with some Republican voice in Minnesota state government," said House Floor Leader Harry Niska, a Republican from Ramsey.

Still, Lindberg said it's not clear how the deal will play with the most engaged voters on either side, who tend to decide each party's endorsement but who often hold more extreme views than most general election voters.

Lindberg said the cut for property taxes and money for hospitals will be meaningful in rural areas, which are home to a large portion of the Republican base. But the deal doesn't necessarily get to the core of what the Make American Great Again brand of Republicanism is pushing for.

Voters outside the Twin Cities also may look at the money to bail out the struggling HCMC in Minneapolis while getting modest tax cuts and think they didn't get enough.

Everyone in the state will have a "sigh of relief" at temporarily lower car tab fees, Lindberg said, but he also noted that the question for Demuth is whether that's a "big draw for an entire party that's built on less government spending." He added: "Probably not."

Jay Duggan, who helps run the brash, right-wing "Rocks and Cows of Minnesota" group on Facebook, said the debate is not whether Demuth is conservative enough on social issues like abortion, but he wanted more of a fight from Republicans to cut costs.

Many Republicans are frustrated after Democrats spent a historic budget surplus in 2023, oversaw ballooning fraud scandals and raised taxes and fees that are pinching the type of blue-collar voter that voted for Trump but might sit out local elections.

Qualls said he hopes for more radical change, not "band-aid politics" on affordability and fraud, and added that he would have drawn a harder line in the sand. Even though Demuth has only some power in state government, he said "a deal could not have been done without her approval."

Demuth acknowledged the GOP was only able to secure a one-year reduction in vehicle registration fees, but said that was the political reality at the Capitol.

"Hopefully there will be that major change in the makeup of the Legislature so we can continue on this path of making things more affordable," she said.

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This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 12:52 PM.