Nationally-known endorsements are a key factor in any political race, and in these final days of the race for Colorado GOP Chair, former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters has landed a big one: MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.
Lindell’s support isn’t surprising- he’s been an ally and benefactor of Peters since before she was charged with the seven felonies she currently faces for her alleged involvement in the copying of her own county’s election data.
Given Lindell’s connection to Peters, the Colorado Times Recorder last week asked him if he was endorsing Peters.
“Yes, I would endorse Tina Peters in a heartbeat and I do endorse her,” said Lindell. “She fought to get rid of the electronic voting machines and to get our elections fair and she would be a great chairman.”
Asked for comment via text, Peters provided an audio clip of Lindell formally endorsing her for Chair, presumably sent as a robocall to Colorado GOP Central Committee members.
“Hello everyone, Mike Lindell here, You know how much I love this great country. Well right now, Colorado needs a GOP chair that will ensure that true Republicans are not only supported, but given the tools they need to win at the polls. We’ve all had it with weak politicians that promise and do nothing once they’re elected. Tina Peters has stood in the fight for all of Colorado and now you must stand with her. I’m Mike Lindell and I wholeheartedly support Tina Peters for GOP chair.”
In August of 2021 Lindell used his private jet to fly Peters and several other Mesa County election fraud conspiracy theorists to his Cyber Symposium. He subsequently flew her to Texas and provided housing, ostensibly for her safety, for weeks following the event, which failed to produce any evidence of election fraud in Mesa County or anywhere else.
Last April Lindell told reporters he was supporting Peters financially as well, saying he’d paid around $800,000 for her legal defense, though he appears to have walked back that claim in later statements.
When federal agents seized Lindell’s phone last year, the search warrant included all communications with Peters.
Lindell isn’t the only nationally known election denier to record a robocall for Peters; last month failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake urged Colorado Republicans to vote for Peters as well.
Peters has endorsed other party officer candidates herself: she’s thrown her support behind a fellow election denier, Todd Watkins, who is currently Vice Chair of the El Paso County GOP but wants to move up to the same position at the state level. Peters endorsed him and Anna Ferguson, a former Adams GOP officer now running for state GOP Secretary against incumbent GOP Secretary Marilyn Harris. .
Lindell’s decision to weigh in for a state chair campaign is notable because endorsements have been relatively scarce in this race. Former state Rep. Dave Williams, who’s currently working as a legislative aide, received endorsement from a pair of his former colleagues, state Rep. Brandi Bradley and state Sen. Kevin Van Winkle, as well as former House Minority Leader Patrick Neville.
Perhaps the only other notable endorsement comes from former Congressman Tom Tancredo. The conservative icon is backing Lori Cutunilli, another election denier who led two failed attempts to recall Governor Polis, in her own challenge to Secretary Harris.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article stated that Lindell knew Peters well before her alleged involvement in the Mesa Couny election data breach. That was incorrect- Lindell first met Peters after those alleged actions, when she attended his Cyber Symposium in August 2021. The Colorado Times Recorder regrets the error.
