Long-shot GOP presidential candidate Doug Burgum announced he is suspending his campaign on Monday.
In an announcement posted to X, the North Dakota governor said the decision to run for office “came from a place of caring deeply about every American, and our mission to re-establish trust in American leadership and our institutions of democracy.”
“In community after community, we have witnessed the best of America, and we are deeply grateful to everyone who supported us along the way,” he continued.
He closed the brief post by saying he and his wife are “committed to fighting for the people who make our nation so exceptional.” We launched our campaign with a clear-eyed mission: Bring a business leader and proven governor’s voice to fight for the best of America. We will always remain committed to fighting for that, and for the people who make our nation so exceptional. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/ugSM7SysxS
— Doug Burgum (Text "DOUG" to 70177) (@DougBurgum) December 4, 2023
In a follow-up Dec. 4 post, Burgum said that prior to entering the race, the national conversation focused on issues that could be solved at the local level, as opposed to “the essential, core responsibilities of the President and the executive branch as delegated by the 10th Amendment.”
“Now just six months after our campaign launch, we’ve elevated the importance of an intelligent energy policy that grows jobs and our economy, reduces inflation, is good for the environment and – unlike Joe Biden’s fantasy green energy plan – stops enabling and empowering our adversaries, specifically China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela and North Korea,” he concluded.
Burgum, who announced his bid for the White House in June, has consistently polled in the low single digits.
Although the North Dakota governor participated in the first two GOP debates, he failed to qualify for the third and would likely not qualify for the upcoming debate on Dec. 6.
In a separate statement, the two-term governor criticized the Republican National Committee's “clubhouse” requirements for debates is “nationalizing the primary process.”
“The RNC’s mission is to win elections. It is not their mission to reduce competition and restrict fresh ideas by ‘narrowing the field’ months before the Iowa caucuses or the first in the nation New Hampshire primary. These arbitrary criteria ensure advantages for candidates from major media markets on the coasts versus America’s Heartland,” Burgum said, per The Hill.
“Burgum is the latest candidate to drop out of the race, following former South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, Vice President Mike Pence, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, former Rep. Will Hurd and businessperson Perry Johnson,” Politico reports.
Prior to his time in government, the 66-year-old found success in the technology sector. He founded Great Plains Software, which specialized in accounting software, in 1983. He sold his business in 2001 to Microsoft for over $1 billion and stayed with the technology behemoth as a vice president until 2007. As part of the terms of the acquisition, Microsoft Great Plains remained headquartered in Fargo.
He won reelection in 2020 and is ineligible for a third gubernatorial term.
Last August, Burgum was asked during an interview on CNN This Morning if he would be willing to serve as Trump’s running mate in 2024.
“No, I would not,” said Burgum, per The Hill. “Happy to do lots of other things. I [had a] fabulous 30 years in the private sector, a lot of opportunities there.”
“I’m not running for a Cabinet position. I mean, I’m not selling a book, I’m not running [for] Cabinet,” he continued. “All I’ve ever done: CEO, entrepreneur, build businesses, attract talent, be successful, understand how the globe works, and lead stuff, like the miracle story, the success story of North Dakota.”
On Nov. 30, Reuters reported Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley are the only two candidates guaranteed to qualify for the fourth GOP debate. The outlet notes that aside from Vivek Ramaswamy – who is on the cusp of qualifying – no other candidates appear likely to make it to the stage.
Donald Trump, the current GOP frontrunner by a wide margin, has not attended any debates thus far.
Hannah Claire Brimelow contributed to this report
