MINOT — Since
Gov. Doug Burgum
officially announced his campaign for the presidency back on June 7, there have been persistent rumors about what his real goal is.
It’s been fashionable for media pundits and social media gadflies to suggest that Burgum wasn’t running to be president so much as to be the running mate for one of the more popular candidates. Or to get a cabinet appointment in a current rival’s administration.
I never bought into that line of thinking. For one, Trump is probably going to be the nominee, and he probably isn’t going to win, and even if he does win, who in the world would want to serve in his administration? Mike Pence served as Trump’s vice president and ended his tenure in that office the target of a lynch mob. Of the dozens of people Trump appointed to his cabinet,
just four say he should be reelected.
Besides, I’ve gotten to know Burgum pretty well since his first gubernatorial election. I’m not sure there are many people in the news media who have published more words about the man’s political career than I have. Being a CEO is in the man’s blood. He’s not going to sign up to be anyone’s underling.
Trump’s
post-debate praise for Burgum
reignited the speculation that the governor might want a cabinet or running mate position, but the candidate himself shot that down today.
“No, I would not,” Burgum said during a Monday, Aug. 28, interview on “CNN This Morning,” when asked if he would agree to be Trump’s vice president.
“I’m not running for a Cabinet position,” he continued. “I mean, I’m not selling a book, I’m not running [for] Cabinet. All I’ve ever done: CEO, entrepreneur, build businesses, attract talent, be successful, understand how the globe works, and lead stuff, like the miracle story, the success story of North Dakota.”
That’s about as direct an answer as you’re going to get.
I think we can assume that Burgum is only running to be president. Though that, it must be said, isn’t going swimmingly.
Burgum spent millions to qualify for the debate stage,
including a scheme selling $20 gift cards for $1 each
to pump up his donor numbers, on the idea that getting in front of a national audience would raise his name recognition. The debate
drew nearly 13 million viewers
, but Burgum didn’t get much time in front of them. He spoke just seven times during the debate, for a total of eight minutes, which was
less than every other candidate
but for Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
A snap poll taken immediately after the debate
didn’t show much movement in Burgum’s polling.
Now, with more time for Americans to digest the debate, and have their opinions measured by the various pollsters, we still aren’t seeing movement in Burgum’s numbers.
According to polling aggregator Real Clear Politics,
there have been five polls taken since debate day on Aug. 23. Burgum was included in four of them, scoring 1% in two, and 0% in two.
Burgum’s rolling polling average, as calculated by RCP, was 0.6% the day of the debate, and it’s at 0.6% now.
To be fair, the debate doesn’t seem to have changed much in the presidential race. Trump’s numbers are down a few points. He didn’t participate in the debate, but he was mentioned, and he was also
arrested and booked in the criminal proceedings against him
in Georgia last week as well.
Gov. Ron DeSantis is down slightly as well. Pence and Nikki Haley are up slightly. The rest of the candidates are, like Burgum, pretty much unchanged.
Why can’t Burgum get traction?
As I wrote over the weekend,
I think it’s because he’s offering something — traditional Republicanism focused on the economy, national security, and energy — at a time when the Republican base wants Trump-style angry populism.
Combine that with a near-complete refusal to be critical of Trump in any meaningful way —
Burgum raised his hand at the debate when asked by moderators if he’d continue to support Trump for president after a felony conviction
— and you have to wonder just what it is Burgum thinks Republican voters will find appealing.
Maybe there’s some quiet plurality of traditional Republicans who aren’t showing up in the opinion surveys but are ready to turn out in the primaries in numbers large enough to make a candidate like Burgum competitive.
It just seems unlikely.
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