(DailyAnswer.org) – North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum has announced that he will not pursue a third term as governor after dropping his presidential bid. The 67-year-old Republican mostly funded his presidential campaign himself, having sold his company, Great Plains Software, to Microsoft for $1.1 billion in 2021. Burgum stepped down from the presidential election in December 2023 before endorsing Donald Trump in January, appearing onstage to declare himself as the first Republican primary to endorse the former president in his campaign. Other former candidates followed suit in endorsing Trump, such as Vivek Ramaswamy and Senator Tim Scott, who are set to appear with Burgum at a rally in New Hampshire. Ron DeSantis has also dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump ahead of the New Hampshire primary.
In his first run for governor in 2016 Burgum beat Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem by more than 20 points. As governor he signed a law that banned almost all abortions in the state but said he would not sign a nationwide ban on abortion as president. Burgum passed a number of laws in 2023 restricting what activists call “transgender rights,” banning so-called “gender-affirming care” for children, and restricting access of transgender students to sports. He also vetoed a transgender pronouns bill in November 2023.
Burgum pushed for tax cuts, focusing on income taxes in particular, albeit with mixed results, and notably championed the planned Theodore Roosevelt Library, located in the Badlands of Medora. Together with his wife Kathryn, a recovering alcoholic, his administration focused on supporting recovery from addiction as a key issue.
Burgum stated that his support for Trump has not influenced his decision to step down and that he would not run for a third term because of his family, which includes three adult children, but expressed excitement about the opportunities in the private sector and did not rule out a future term. Former Republican Governor of North Dakota Ed Schafer speculated about a potential future career for Burgum in public service or as a senator, and Burgum stated that a cabinet role or position as vice president is currently only “hypothetical”.
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