The GOP presidential primary field will grow even larger on Wednesday with North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum jumping into the race, announcing his campaign in his home state and then making a swing through Iowa.
“We need a change in the White House. We need a new leader for a changing economy. That’s why I’m announcing my run for president today,” Burgum wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.
A two-term governor, Burgum may not be well-known nationally, but he has vast personal resources to spend on the race. He recently signaled that he would spend his own money on the campaign, telling NBC News’ Henry J. Gomez, “I’ve always had my own skin in the game. I’ve always felt like I would never ask others to invest if I weren’t always investing.”
The 66 year-old Arthur, N.D. native built his fortune as CEO of Great Plains Software, which he sold to Microsoft. He also founded real estate development firm Kilbourne Group and co-founded venture capital firm Arthur Ventures, according to his biography with the governor’s office:
Burgum is the sixth current or former governor to jump into the GOP primary (including Pence, Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson). He won his first term as governor in 2016 with 77% of the vote, defeating Democrat Marvin Nelson by 58 percentage points. In 2020, Burgum won re-election by 42 points, winning 69% of the vote.
In other campaign news…
The Florida swamp: NBC News’ Matt Dixon and Jonathan Allen detail how DeSantis “reconfigured the swamp to suit his political needs and shielded it from Florida’s famous sunshine.”
Trump tries to block separate E. Jean Carroll suit: NBC News’ Adam Reiss and Dareh Gregorian report that Trump’s lawyers are trying to get a defamation suit filed by writer E. Jean Carroll thrown out.
Cash dash: The Republican National Committee’s 40,000 donor threshold for primary debates has GOP candidates scrambling for small-dollar donors, Politico reports.
Fessing up: Florida’s Division of Emergency Management confirmed Tuesday that the state helped arrange flights of migrants from Texas to California — flights California Attorney General Rob Bonta is investigating and said could lead to “civil or criminal actions against the state of Florida” or others. California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said he believes a crime was committed, and told NBC’s “TODAY” that “the buck should stop with Ron DeSantis.”
No labels, no rules: NBC News’ Alex Seitz-Wald reports that Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows has sent a cease-and-desist letter to No Labels after complaints the group was misleading voters by telling them they were signing a petition when they were actually changing their voter registration to the No Labels Party.
Rolling the dice: The Nevada Globe reports that former Ambassador Jeffrey Ross Gunter, who served as ambassador to Iceland during the Trump administration, is considering a Senate bid in Nevada.
Eyes on Kentucky: The Associated Press reports on how crime is becoming an issue in the Kentucky gubernatorial race.
