North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum ends 2024 Republican presidential bid days before the fourth debate

BISMARCK, N.D. — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum ended his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination on Monday despite a stronger-than-expected performance fueled by a gift card-for-campaign donation gimmick that helped propel him onto the debate stage.

Burgum, a second-term governor and a wealthy software entrepreneur, was little known nationally when he launched his 2024 presidential campaign in June, touting his energy, economic and national security priorities as well as his small-town roots and leadership in the world. sparsely populated state.

He participated in the first two Republican debates and met the Republican National Committee's donor requirements by offering $20 Biden Relief Cards — a jab at rising inflation during President Joe Biden's term in office — in exchange for $20 donations 1. The tactic raised skepticism about its legality, although Burgum's campaign said its legal advisers had reviewed and approved the method.

However, he failed to qualify for the third debate as he did not meet the election requirements. And it seemed that he would not qualify for the fourth debate, which will be held on Wednesday in Alabama.

He accused the RNC, which sets the qualifications for the debates, of “nationalizing the primary process and taking the power of democracy away from the engaged, thinking citizens of Iowa and New Hampshire.”

“It is not their mission to reduce competition and limit new ideas by narrowing the field months before the Iowa caucuses or the first New Hampshire primaries,” he wrote in his statement announcing his departure. “These arbitrary criteria ensure benefits. for candidates from the major coastal media markets versus the American Heartland. None of their debate criteria address the qualifications associated with actually doing the job of the president.”

Ultimately, he was unable to gain much traction over his rivals in a contest dominated by former President Donald Trump. He joins former Vice President Mike Pence, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, radio host Larry Elder, businessman Perry Johnson, former Texas Congressman Will Hurd and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez in suspending his bid.

Burgum injected millions of his own money into the race, accounting for $12.2 million of the $15.1 million his campaign raised from March through September, according to Federal Election Commission filings. A super PAC backing his bid raised more than $11 million in the first six months of this year, according to the filings.

He nearly missed his first chance at national public exposure when he tore his Achilles tendon the day before the opening debate in Milwaukee. But he persevered, later telling reporters that he was standing on one leg behind the podium.

He then resumed the campaign with a boot and a knee scooter.

Burgum was a political newcomer in 2016 when he expressed anger at the longtime attorney general in North Dakota's Republican primary. He is now in his second term as governor and will be eligible for a third term in 2024, although he has not indicated whether he plans to run again.

Burgum took office amid protests against the Dakota Access pipeline and a massive shortfall in state revenue. He touted a vision of “reinventing” state government, as a candidate and after victory.

Among his biggest legislative efforts were a Theodore Roosevelt presidential library near Medora in 2019, income tax relief earlier this year, and again, albeit unsuccessfully, during a special session in October that left him out for a few days kept the campaign trail.

He drew attention in the 2020 and 2022 elections for spending millions of his own money in an effort to target legislative seats held by fellow Republicans, including the longtime speaker of the powerful budget-writing House.

In 2021, he vetoed bills banning state-issued mask mandates and restricting transgender students from public school sports, although the Legislature overruled him in the former area. In 2023, he signed a dozen bills that opponents said restricted transgender people, including new sports laws and a ban on gender-affirming care for children.

Before his time as governor, Burgum was best known as a businessman who led Great Plains Software, which Microsoft acquired for more than $1 billion in 2001. He remained a director at Microsoft until 2007. He has led other companies in real estate development and venture capital investments. capital.