North Dakota Gov. Burgum Enters 2024 GOP Presidential Race

story

Jun 07, 2023

Image copyright: US Air National Guard [via Wikimedia Commons]story last updated Jun 07, 2023

The Facts

Former Great Plains Software CEO turned two-term North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum formally launched his campaign for the 2024 GOP presidential campaign at a kickoff event Wednesday in Fargo, North Dakota.
The conservative plans to focus on traditional pro-business issues, such as the economy, energy, and national security, while avoiding the culture wars that both the GOP frontrunner, former Pres. Donald Trump, and his main challenger, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have adopted.

The Spin

Narrative A

Though Gov. Doug Burgum is running on a back-to-basics pro-business platform to pull the GOP away from culture wars, it's very unlikely that his campaign will influence the race — let alone be a winning strategy. Republicans have mostly been supportive of culture wars, with culture warriors even leading the race for the North Dakota GOP leadership.

Dickinson Press

Narrative B

While most Republicans may have never heard of Burgum before he launched his campaign, he could emerge as the main alternative to Trump and DeSantis in the race for the GOP 2024 presidential nomination due to his deep pockets. Just like he did in his unexpected 2016 North Dakota GOP primary victory, he is expected to pump millions of dollars into his own campaign.