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Minnesota Republican governor candidate Rep. Lisa Demuth has selected attorney Ryan Wilson as her pick for lieutenant governor.
She is the first major contender to announce a 2026 running mate. Demuth is the current Minnesota House speaker.
Wilson narrowly lost a 2022 race for state auditor. He also represented the GOP caucus in the state Supreme Court this year when the House was unable to muster enough members to meet.
At a news conference Monday, Demuth pointed to the close 2022 race, along with Wilson’s focus on rooting out fraud in state programs, as what led her to pick him as a running mate.
“Ryan’s success in being the closest statewide race this last election, when he ran for state auditor, let us know that Minnesotans were looking for a change,” Demuth said. “Minnesotans want to get behind both my vision as governor and Ryan Wilson as lieutenant governor, that was a very important piece as we were building this strong team.”
Demuth said it was important to select a running mate early to show that her campaign was serious and hitting the ground running.
“It is very, very much of a competitive advantage to come out with a strong team early on, and that is what we have done,” Demuth said. “We have not taken this responsibility of running for office lightly.”
For his part, Wilson said he was honored to join the ticket and ready to get to work telling voters what the candidates stand for. He said much like his run for state auditor, the campaign would center on how Minnesota could be improved.
“People wanted to know how things were going to work better, not just how things are working bad today,” he said. “And I think that's going to be a key part of our campaign is expressing Lisa's vision, our vision for how that can be a stronger, better Minnesota.”
Demuth kicked off her own campaign last week. She and Wilson will head out this week on a campaign tour.
Gov. Tim Walz, the DFL incumbent, is seeking a third term. He also is considering a running mate as current Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan runs for U.S. Senate.
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