Another one bites the dust: North Dakota governor drops out of 2024 presidential race

Governor Doug Burgum, Office of the Governor, State of North Dakota, WikiMedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

North Dakota governor Doug Burgum is the latest candidate to drop out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination in the upcoming 2024 US elections. After participating in the first two rounds of debates, he failed to meet the donor requirements to qualify for the third and fourth rounds and subsequently announced his withdrawal on 4 December.

Burgum’s campaign financing strategy sparked questions about its legality when he reportedly gave out $20 gift cards – labelled “Biden relief cards” in a jab against the current President – in exchange for donations to his campaign. Critics have voiced concern about Burgum using his personal wealth to boost his chances, but at the end of the day, it was not enough to keep him in the running.

Although Burgum is not very well-known nationally, he is part of a growing trend of candidates in the Republican Party who come from business, finance, or other private sector backgrounds and then build their images around challenging a corrupt and out-of-touch political establishment. As a former software entrepreneur, Burgum follows in the footsteps of GOP candidates like fellow dropout and businessman Perry Johnson, who had previously been disqualified from running for office due to submitting invalid signatures on his nomination petition, and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who is still in the running and hoping to appeal to younger voters through his anti-woke agenda.

With Burgum also out of the race now, the six remaining candidates are set to face off again in January. Former President Donald Trump will be challenged by Florida governor Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina governor and US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, author and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, and former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson. Like Burgum’s, their campaigns are typically centred around national and border security as well as revitalising the economy.