North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R), has announced that he will not run for a third term as governor.
This announcement came on Jan. 22, when the governor indicated that his term—ending on Dec. 14—would be his last. It came more than a month after he decided to withdraw his nomination for the Republican presidential candidate.
The recent endorsement that Mr. Burgum offered to former President Donald Trump, as well as the latter’s appreciation of the governor, have both contributed to the growth of speculation over the possibility of Mr. Burgum participating in a potential second administration led by President Trump.
Mr. Burgum, who is 67 years old, is a wealthy software entrepreneur who gained an unexpected victory in the political primary election for the Republican nomination for governor in 2016.
He defeated the state’s well-liked attorney general when he ran his campaign on the platform of “reinventing” the state government amid a $1 billion financial shortfall for its treasury.
Following that, Mr. Burgum won his bid for reelection in 2020 by a significant margin.
“We’ve made incredible progress these past seven years, from record tax relief and historic investments in infrastructure, education, and other priorities, to guiding our state through historic challenges including drought, flooding, the DAPL [Dakota Access Pipeline] protests, and a global pandemic,” the governor said.
Mr. Burgum took office during the height of the protests that were taking place over the oil pipeline. As the number of COVID-19 cases increased, he took the lead in leading the state’s response to the pandemic caused by the coronavirus.
He advised residents to remain “North Dakota smart” and urged them to take “personal responsibility.”
As governor, Mr. Burgum advocated for the establishment of a Theodore Roosevelt presidential library in the state’s Badlands, which is a region where the 26th president of the United States hunted and ranched during the 1880s.
The governor also signed a plethora of measures that opponents criticized as being damaging to those who identify as transgender.
These bills included a prohibition on gender-affirming care for children and restrictions on the involvement of students in school athletics.
“We’ve diversified our economy and grown our agriculture and energy industries, revitalized main streets and supported healthy, vibrant communities, reinvented government to be more efficient and effective, improved state-tribal relations, and helped eliminate the shame and stigma of the disease of addiction while inspiring people to seek recovery,” Mr. Burgum continued in his statement.
The North Dakotan financed his presidential campaign with more than $12 million of his own funds. The campaign concluded in December, after just six months.
Mr. Burgum acquired prominence as a software executive before assuming the role of governor.
Under his leadership, Great Plains Software was acquired by Microsoft in 2001 for more than $1 billion. He held an executive position at Microsoft until 2007 and since then guided venture capital and real estate development firms.
“There’s never been a better time to live, work, and raise a family in North Dakota,” Mr. Burgum said near the end of his statement.
“Our state is extremely well-positioned for the future thanks to the efforts of everyone on Team ND to empower people, improve lives, and inspire success.”
