North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum joined the growing GOP presidential field Wednesday with pledges to jumpstart the economy and sweep aside the partisan infighting that is ripping neighborhoods apart.
Mr. Burgum, a wealthy tech entrepreneur who became governor in 2016 and won reelection in 2020, kicked off his campaign with a lively event in Fargo. He entered the stage to chants of “Doug, Doug, Doug.”
“It feels like ESPN Gameday in here,” he said.
Mr. Burgum said the next president must be focused on three things: The economy, energy and national security.
“That is why today, I am officially running for the president of the United States of America,” he said.
Mr. Burgum discussed his humble roots in small-town North Dakota and said he beat the naysayers by starting a software company in his not-so-populous Midwest state and growing it into a billion-dollar entity.
Mr. Burgum said he is running because he knows what it is like to have a job where you shower at the end of the day, not the beginning, and built a business from the ground up.
The governor is running on a conservative record of state tax cuts, strict abortion limits and legislation that banned gender-affirming care for transgender minors. He also boasted about his state’s growing economy and its high workforce participation rate.
Mr. Burgum attacked President Biden by saying he imposed a “hidden tax” on Americans through policies that failed to corral inflation.
“Inflation is the worst. It hurts most those who can afford it the least,” he said.
Mr. Burgum’s main challenge will be gaining name recognition in a field dominated by known figures such as former President Donald Trump, the front-runner, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is considered Mr. Trump’s biggest threat in the GOP field.
Candidates who’ve been on the public’s radar for years — including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence — are polling in the single digits.
Mr. Burgum said he would put innovation ahead of regulation to steer the U.S. into the future, unleash American agriculture and energy and bring people together.
“Our enemies aren’t our neighbors down the street,” Mr. Burgum said. “Our enemies are countries that want to see our way of life destroyed.”
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said Mr. Burgum is too extreme for most voters.
“After campaigning for Trump, Burgum signed one of the strictest abortion bans in the country with no exceptions for rape or incest after six weeks, pushed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and signed legislation making it easier for criminals to carry guns,” he said. “This field might be getting more crowded, but every single contender is peddling the same brand of extremism that the American people have rejected again and again.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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