Doug Burgum Formally Suspends Presidential Campaign

Doug Burgum
Stephen Yang/Getty Images
Hannah Knudsen

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum on Monday formally suspended his presidential campaign, six weeks ahead of the Iowa caucus.

“We launched our campaign for President on June 7 clear-eyed about our mission: bring a business leader and proven governor’s voice to the fight for the best of America,” Burgum’s campaign statement reads.

“We are a nation built on freedom, liberty, and personal responsibility. A nation where neighbors help neighbors, and where innovation, not regulation, lifts us all to reach our highest potential,” it continued.

“We remain committed to improving the lives of every American by moving American 180 degrees in the opposite direction of Joe Biden on three critical issues — the economy, energy, and national security,” it added.

In another statement posted to X, Burgum said the decision to run 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.”

He remains committed, he emphasized, to “fighting for the people who make our nation so exceptional.”

Burgum’s departure comes as he failed to make the debate stage in the last debate and would likely not make the cut for the December 6 debate in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, either.

For that debate, the requirements are even greater, as candidates must see at least six percent approval in two qualifying national polls, or see six percent in two early voting states, whether that be South Carolina, Iowa, New Hampshire, or Nevada. Further, candidates must see at least 80,000 unique donors.

Monday’s RealClearPolitics data showed Burgum with an average of 0.6 percent in national polling while garnering 2.7 percent in Iowa, 0.3 percent in South Carolina, two percent in New Hampshire, and one percent in Nevada.

File/Republican presidential candidate North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum waves at the Republican Party of Iowa’s 2023 Lincoln Dinner in Des Moines, Iowa, Friday, July 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

He had his moments throughout his campaign, however, garnering positive attention after ripping the Fox News/Univision debate, for example.

“I mean, the people that lost tonight [were] the American voters, because if they don’t get a chance to actually understand who’s on the stage and what they stand for, I think that’s a big loss for the voters,” he said at the time.

“Because the voters decide who’s going to move forward in this campaign, not televised clickbait debates,” he added.

WATCH — Burgum Rips FOX/Univision Debate: The American People Lost Tonight
Joel B. Pollak / Breitbart News

His departure comes as Trump continues to lead the GOP primary pack by double digits as former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis essentially battle it out for second place.

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