In an unsurprising finale to North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum’s campaign to become the United States’ next President, it was revealed on December 4th that he had officially dropped out of the presidential race. The governor faced many obstacles, such as a massive lack of name recognition when campaigning, a lack of the widespread popular support needed for the Republican debates, and a general avoidance of the hot-button issues that the other Republican candidates were campaigning on. 

Burgum himself directly pointed fingers at the Republican National Committee (RNC) to blame, at the very least in part, for his failed campaign. As the BBC’s Max Mazta reports, Burgum claimed, “The RNC’s clubhouse debate requirements are nationalizing the primary process and taking the power of democracy away from the early voting states of New Hampshire and Iowa… These arbitrary criteria ensure advantages for candidates from major media markets on the coasts versus America’s Heartland.” In other words, the RNC’s strict rules are biased in nature and thus leave behind a truly democratic process for determining the leading Republican candidates.  

This could be why Burgum had felt it acceptable, as I would argue, to bribe voters with his twenty-dollar “Biden Economic Relief Cards” in order to meet the requirements of widespread popular support needed for the first Republican primary debate. No matter the reasoning behind his decision to employ such controversial tactics, it is now very evident that Burgum’s pockets and his cheap methods could only reach so far. Mazta of the BBC reports “that the third primary’s regulations were too much for Burgum as they had the strictest qualification requirements yet, including 80,000 donors and 6% support or more in two national polls.”  

Although most of the nation could see the metaphorical writing on the wall when it came to Burgum’s campaign if they were even aware of it, it seems that Burgum’s failure remained a surprise to some of North Dakota’s Republican Party. Justin Gick of KFYR news reports that, although some representatives were relatively unsurprised, Senator Kevin Cramer expressed his shock and sorrow at Burgum’s dropping out of the race. He said, “I really was fully expecting from everything that he has said and every indication that he would see this through at least through Iowa, but at the same time, not knowing what’s going on internally and what’s going on in his heart and his head…” Gick continues with his report, noting that the North Dakota ND GOP Chairwoman Sandi Sanford had also released a statement on Monday saying, “The North Dakota Republican Party extends heartfelt gratitude to Gov. Doug Burgum for his unwavering commitment to North Dakota values during his presidential bid. Gov. Burgum’s dedication to our great state has been evident throughout his campaign, and we commend him for effectively representing the principles that matter most to North Dakotans.” And thus concludes Doug Burgum’s presidential dreams.  

References: 

Gick, J. (2023, December 5). North Dakota representatives respond to Burgum dropping out of the presidential race. https://www.kfyrtv.com. https://www.kfyrtv.com/2023/12/05/north-dakota-representatives-respond-burgum-dropping-out-presidential-race/ 

Mazta, M. (2023, December 4). Doug Burgum drops out of republican race for president. BBC Breaking News, World News, U.S. News, Sports, Business, Innovation, Climate, Culture, Travel, Video & Audio. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67620094 

Kira Symington is a Dakota Student Section Editor. She can be reached at [email protected].