North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is the latest Republican to join a growing field of candidates challenging former President Donald Trump for the presidency in 2024.
The two-term governor and tech entrepreneur announced his bid in a Wall Street Journal op-ed Tuesday night, promising to make the economy his top priority without mentioning thornier culture war issues: “We need to get inflation under control, cut taxes, lower gas prices and reduce the cost of living,” he wrote.
He touted his experience leading Great Plains Software, which went public in 1997 and was sold to Microsoft in 2001 for $1.1 billion in stock. His proceeds from that deal mean he’ll likely be able to self-fund his campaign. He highlighted how he “achieved pension reform, helped pass term limits, and enacted the biggest tax cut in state history” this year. He has also set a goal of making North Dakota carbon-neutral by 2030, implementing carbon capture and storage technology while still maintaining fossil fuel production, which is a major industry in the state.
Burgum is well-liked in North Dakota but doesn’t have the national name recognition of some of his GOP rivals, nor is he cut from a Trumpian mold, which could make it difficult for him to break through to primary voters who still love the former president.
Burgum’s entry nevertheless adds to the competition against Trump, whom some Republicans see as a liability in a general election. Not only is Trump the subject of several ongoing civil and criminal investigations, but he’s broadly unpopular. He lost his reelection bid in 2020, and his chosen candidates broadly underperformed in the 2022 midterms.
Still, it’s likely to be a tough primary for anyone who’s not Trump. The former president, who announced his candidacy in November, has been increasingly dominant in polling. His closest competitor, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, is trailing him by more than 30 percentage points on average as of early June.
Besides Trump…
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