Doug Burgum
Doug Burgum (Republican Party) is the 33rd governor of North Dakota. He assumed office on December 15, 2016. His current term ends on December 15, 2024.
He was last elected in the general election on November 3, 2020, on a joint ticket with Lt. Gov. Brent Sanford (R).
Before holding elected office, Burgum founded Great Plains Software, which was sold to Microsoft for $1.1 billion in 2001.[1]
Burgum ran in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. He declared his candidacy on June 7, 2023.[2] Burgum withdrew from the race on December 4, 2023.[3] Click here to read more about his presidential campaign.
On January 22, 2024, Burgum announced that he would not be running for re-election for Governor of North Dakota.[4]
Biography
Burgum was born on August 1, 1956, in Arthur, North Dakota. He received a bachelor's degree from North Dakota State University in 1978 and an MBA from Stanford University in 1980. After graduating from business school, Burgum worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Company from 1980 to 1983. He founded Great Plains Software in 1983, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2001. He then worked at Microsoft as a senior vice president from 2001 to 2007.[5][6]
Burgum also served on several boards before being elected governor, including the Arthur Companies, Avalara, Atlassian, the Raikes School of Computer Science and Management at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and Intelligent InSites.[5]
Political career
Governor of North Dakota (2016-present)
Burgum assumed office as governor of North Dakota on December 15, 2016.
Elections
2024
Burgum announced his candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential primary on June 7, 2023.[7] Burgum withdrew from the race on December 4, 2023.[3]
Republican presidential primaries 2024
|
Candidate
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Pledged delegates
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Donald Trump | 2,265 |
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Nikki Haley | 97 |
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Ron DeSantis | 9 |
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Vivek Ramaswamy | 3 |
| Total pledged delegates: 2,374 |
Click the links below to read more about the 2024 presidential election:
- Doug Burgum presidential campaign, 2024
- Presidential candidates, 2024
- Democratic presidential nomination, 2024
- Republican presidential nomination, 2024
2020
See also: North Dakota gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2020
North Dakota gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2020 (June 9 Democratic primary)
North Dakota gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2020 (June 9 Republican primary)
General election
General election for Governor of North Dakota
The following candidates ran in the general election for Governor of North Dakota on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Doug Burgum (R) | 65.8 | 235,629 | |
| Shelley Lenz (D) | 25.4 | 90,925 | ||
| DuWayne Hendrickson (L) | 3.9 | 13,833 | ||
| Michael Coachman (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | ||
 | Bruce Moe (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | |
| Jamie Brager (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 4.9 | 17,472 | ||
| Total votes: 357,859 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of North Dakota
Shelley Lenz advanced from the Democratic primary for Governor of North Dakota on June 9, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Shelley Lenz | 99.3 | 34,501 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.7 | 231 | ||
| Total votes: 34,732 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of North Dakota
Incumbent Doug Burgum defeated Michael Coachman in the Republican primary for Governor of North Dakota on June 9, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Doug Burgum | 89.5 | 96,119 | |
| Michael Coachman | 10.2 | 10,904 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 356 | ||
| Total votes: 107,379 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Libertarian primary election
Libertarian primary for Governor of North Dakota
DuWayne Hendrickson advanced from the Libertarian primary for Governor of North Dakota on June 9, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | DuWayne Hendrickson | 77.6 | 705 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 22.4 | 203 | ||
| Total votes: 908 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Note: According to the office of the North Dakota Secretary of State, write-in votes are not itemized to specific candidates unless the write-in candidates received 10% of what the top vote-getter received for that office.[8]
2016
Generel election results
Doug Burgum and Brent Sanford defeated Marvin Nelson and Joan Heckaman and Marty Riske and Joshua Voytek in the North Dakota governor election.
| North Dakota Governor, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Doug Burgum and Brent Sanford |
76.52% | 259,863 | |
| Democratic | Marvin Nelson and Joan Heckaman | 19.39% | 65,855 | |
| Libertarian | Marty Riske and Joshua Voytek | 3.90% | 13,230 | |
| Write-in votes | 0.19% | 653 | ||
| Total Votes | 339,601 | |||
| Source: North Dakota Secretary of State | ||||
Primary election results
Doug Burgum defeated Wayne Stenehjem and Paul Sorum in the Republican primary for governor and lieutenant governor.
| Republican primary for governor and lieutenant governor, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Doug Burgum |
59.47% | 68,042 |
| Wayne Stenehjem | 38.59% | 44,158 |
| Paul Sorum | 1.89% | 2,164 |
| Write-in votes | 0.04% | 51 |
| Total Votes (432 of 432 precincts reporting) | 114,415 | |
| Source: North Dakota Secretary of State | ||
Campaign themes
2020
Doug Burgum did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Notable endorsements
This section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage and endorsements scopes.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Noteworthy events
Possible 2024 Republican vice presidential nominee
- See also: Vice presidential candidates, 2024
Media reports have discussed Burgum as a possible Republican vice presidential candidate.[9] Former President Donald Trump (R) became the presumptive Republican presidential nominee on March 12, 2024, and is expected to select a running mate ahead of the 2024 Republican National Convention (RNC), which will take place from July 15 to 18.
In 2020, President Joe Biden (D) announced Vice President Kamala Harris (D) as his running mate six days before the start of the Democratic National Convention (DNC). In 2016, both Hillary Clinton (D) and Trump announced their running mates three days before the DNC and RNC, respectively.
Ballot measure activity
Ballotpedia is not aware of any personal political advocacy by this officeholder related to ballot measures we track. If you are aware of any, please email us.
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Burgum has three children with his first wife, Karen Stoker. He remarried in 2016 to Kathryn Helgas.[6][10]
See also
| North Dakota | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
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External links
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Candidate President of the United States |
Officeholder Governor of North Dakota |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Forbes, "America's Best Entrepreneurial Governor," June 13, 2017
- ↑ AP, "In Fargo, North Dakota, Gov. Doug Burgum jumps into crowded Republican race for president," June 7, 2023
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 NBC News, "Doug Burgum suspends presidential campaign," December 4, 2023
- ↑ The Hill, "His presidential bid over, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum says he won’t seek a third term as governor," January 22, 2024
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 LinkedIn, "Doug Burgum," accessed May 27, 2021
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 North Dakota, "Governor Doug Burgum," accessed May 27, 2021
- ↑ AP, "In Fargo, North Dakota, Gov. Doug Burgum jumps into crowded Republican race for president," June 7, 2023
- ↑ North Dakota Legislature, "Chapter 16.1-15: Canvass of Votes - Canvassing Boards," accessed November 23, 2020
- ↑ Politico, "The GOP Is Already Clashing Over Trump’s VP Pick," January 18, 2024
- ↑ Grand Forks Herald, "Governor's daughter, Jessamine Burgum, returns home from L.A. to work on movie close to her heart," September 26, 2019
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Jack Dalrymple (R) |
Governor of North Dakota 2016-Present |
Succeeded by - |
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State of North Dakota Bismarck (capital) |
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