Burgum Suspends Campaign for GOP Presidential Nomination

Facts

• North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum on Monday announced he is suspending his campaign for the 2024 Republican nomination for US president.¹
• Burgum was polling at 1% in an October Morning Consult poll, and that month an NBC/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll showed that 3% of Republican caucus-goers supported him.²
• The second-term governor qualified for the first two GOP debates by meeting the donor requirement through an offer of giving donors $20 gift cards in exchange for $1 donations.³
• However, he failed last month to meet the polling requirement to qualify for the third debate, and appeared headed to failing to qualify for the fourth debate this Wednesday.⁴
• Burgum becomes the seventh candidate to suspend his campaign, a group that includes former Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.⁵
• The GOP field has been winnowed to seven candidates, with former Pres. Donald Trump — who hasn’t participated in any debates — leading the field.⁶

Sources: ¹USA Today, ²Politico, ³Associated Press, ⁴CBS, ⁵NewsNation and ⁶Scripps News.

Narratives

• Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by The Wall Street Journal. Burgum finally made the wise decision, and the rest of Trump’s challengers should do the same. No one in the primary field has even bothered to criticize the former president, who seemingly solidifies his support the more legal trouble he gets into. It’s best for the GOP to rally around one candidate – the runaway frontrunner Donald Trump.
• Anti-Trump narrative, as provided by The New York Times. Preventing another Trump White House term should be foremost in the thoughts of both Republicans and Democrats. Along those lines, the best way to do that — even suggested by several people in Republican and conservative circles — is to narrow the field and rally around one challenger to Trump. In this pursuit, Burgum has done the party and the nation a favor.
• Cynical narrative, as provided by Huffington Post. With Burgum’s announcement came a collective response from all parts of the US: “Who?” Burgum’s campaign served no purpose, as he gained no name recognition and made no impact. All he proved is that with enough personal wealth, anyone can become a candidate for president without ever getting anywhere the nomination, never mind the White House.

Predictions