Doug Burgum announces he’s suspending his 2024 presidential campaign

By Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN

(CNN) — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum announced Monday he’s suspending his long-shot campaign for president, after failing to gain traction among voters and appearing unlikely to qualify for the fourth GOP debate this week.

“Our decision to run for President came from a place of caring deeply about every American and a mission to re-establish trust in America’s leadership and our institutions of democracy,” the Republican said in a statement. “While this primary process has shaken my trust in many media organizations and political party institutions, it has only strengthened my trust in America.”

He also criticized the Republican National Committee for its debate requirements that he argued take the “power of democracy away” from Iowa and New Hampshire voters and nationalize the primary system.

The conservative second-term governor, who launched his 2024 bid in June, focused his campaign on the economy, energy and national security, and warned of China being the “No. 1 threat” to the United States. Burgum leaned into his small-town roots and his business background as a former software firm CEO and Microsoft executive.

Burgum poured millions of his own dollars into his campaign to boost his candidacy.

But he lacked the national name recognition compared with his rivals, and his appearances at the first two debates failed to raise his profile.

He did not qualify for the third debate after failing to meet the heightened polling thresholds, and he was unlikely to meet the qualifications for the fourth debate taking place this week in Alabama.

To qualify for the primary debates, his campaign offered $20 gift cards to people who donated at least a dollar.

The day before the first debate in Milwaukee in August, Burgum ruptured his Achilles tendon while playing a game of pickup basketball with his staff. Despite the injury, Burgum appeared onstage in Milwaukee with seven other GOP candidates, standing for the full debate in a medical boot. “I think I took them a little too literally when they said, ‘Go to Milwaukee and break a leg,’” he joked.

Following the incident, he maintained his campaign schedule, getting around on a scooter as he healed from the injury.

At the second debate in California, Burgum attempted to get more speaking time by inserting himself into the conversation that tended to be dominated by his higher-profile rivals.  That led to one of the debate moderators threatening to cut his microphone. He later expressed frustration over the limited speaking time, telling CNN, “I had to fight my way in.”

Throughout the campaign, Burgum avoided criticizing Donald Trump, who remains the front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination, or commenting on the former president’s legal troubles. Burgum previously told CNN that he would not consider serving as a running mate for Trump or in a future Trump Cabinet. “Happy to do lots of other things. I had a fabulous 30 years in the private sector. A lot of opportunities there,” he said in August.

He did not endorse a candidate for president in his statement announcing he’s ending his bid.

Burgum, who won a second term as North Dakota governor in 2020 with nearly 66% of the vote, is eligible to seek a third term next year. State voters approved a constitutional measure last fall that prohibits governors from serving more than two terms, but a governor’s service before January 1, 2023, does not count against the new limits.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

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