One could be forgiven for never having heard of North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum until recent months. Few outside the Flickertail State had. 

And yet, as the 2024 Republican National Convention prepares to start in Milwaukee, the 67-year old Burgum is widely considered to be among a handful of finalists to become former President Donald Trump’s running mate as the vice-presidential nominee on the GOP ticket. 

His lesser-known profile and his willingness — some might say his eagerness — to change his political stripes to suit the moment could have major implications on moral issues, particularly related to transgender ideologies and abortion, that concern Catholic voters. This is especially true if Burgum, who is a member of the Lutheran Church, eventually finds himself a heartbeat away from the presidency.

There is little precedent for Burgum’s meteoric rise from relative obscurity to national prominence following his failed bid for the Republican nomination. Those familiar with Burgum say his sudden ascendancy fits with his overall biography. 

Raised in Arthur, North Dakota, a tiny farming community of less than 400 people, Burgum earned an M.B.A. from Stanford University before securing a role at the powerful consulting firm McKinsey and Company. 

He then returned to North Dakota to found Great Plains Software Inc., a gambit upon which Burgum claims to have “literally bet the farm.” The accounting software company, for which Burgum personally planted the seed capital, grew steadily over the years before eventually being acquired by Microsoft for $1.1 billion. 

“We ignored those who said North Dakota was too remote to attract the talent needed to build a world-class tech company,” Burgum wrote in The Wall Street Journal. “If you’re going to launch a tech company in North Dakota, you need to be willing to go against the grain and reimagine what’s possible.” 

 

'Outsider Appeal'

Perhaps the unlikeliest of Burgum’s achievements was his victory in the 2016 North Dakota Republican primary for governor. A poll taken in February that year showed him trailing state Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem by 49 points. When primary voters cast their ballots months later, Burgum beat Stenehjem by 21 points. The stunning turnaround was attributed by many to crossover votes of Democrats voting in the GOP primary, which Burgum dismissed as “speculation” and instead credited his victory with having an “outsider’s appeal.” 

Burgum steamrolled to victory in the general election that fall, amassing 76% of the overall vote, which outpaced Trump’s North Dakota presidential vote margin by 13 points.

Burgum’s time as governor has seen substantial economic success for North Dakota — the state has experienced higher-than-average earnings and real GDP increases in recent years, and its general fund held $288 million more than expected at the close of the 2021-23 budget cycle. Burgum attributes these successes to reduced spending, economic diversification, and increased energy production. 

It has also been marked by several policy position “evolutions,” particularly regarding social issues and environmental protections. 

In 2021, Burgum vetoed a bill that would have barred males who identify as transgender females from competing in women’s sports, warning that it would lead to “myriad unforeseen consequences.”

That same year, Burgum also vetoed a bill that would have prohibited colleges and universities from granting awards to organizations that provide abortions, citing the proposal’s lack of “due process” and “egregious intent.” The bill was passed by overwhelming majorities in both the state House and Senate in the heavily Republican state. 

 

Inconsistent on Pro-Life Measures 

According to Mark Jorritsma, executive director of the pro-life group North Dakota Family Alliance, Burgum’s veto created the expectation in state politics that any strong pro-life bills that passed in the state Legislature were dead on arrival once they reached the governor’s desk. 

“The Legislature had become far more conservative between 2021 and 2023,” Jorritsma told the Register. “But we had the same governor. So we were concerned that any legislation that gets to Gov. Burgum, he’s going to veto it.”

But then a strange thing happened in April of 2023. Senate Bill 2150, a bill that would ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for rape and incest, passed the North Dakota Legislature, and to the shock and delight of pro-life leaders in the state, Gov. Burgum signed it. 

“It was very refreshing and unexpected, to be honest,” Jorritsma said. “He didn’t have to sign it. But he did. I remember thanking him in person for coming through for us and for the people of North Dakota. We’ve had disagreements with Gov. Burgum. He’s obviously not an uber-conservative governor. But certainly in this last section, he really came through. It was a great legislative session for us, and it was largely thanks to Gov. Burgum.” 

In addition to S.B. 2150, Burgum has also recently signed into law measures that exempt diapers from sales tax, offer tax credits for adoption and pro-life help centers, and mandate middle school and high school students to view a video on embryonic development through each month of gestation.

North Dakota’s six-week ban is seen as a potential roadblock for a Burgum nomination, however. While he has consistently agreed with Trump that abortion is best left to the states, Trump has urged members of his party to soften their stance in recent months. The 2024 GOP platform on abortion, for instance, removed a decades-long call for a constitutional amendment to protect the lives of the unborn. 

“It’s a little bit of an issue. It’s a pretty strong ban,” Trump said of North Dakota’s new abortion policy. “He’s taken a very strong stance — or the state has. I don’t know if it’s Doug, but the state has.” 

 

Shifts on Environment

On issues related to environmental protections, Burgum has undergone a similar shift over the course of his governorship, causing critics to accuse him of playing both sides of the aisle. 

A vocal critic of the energy lobby’s influence on politics during his 2016 bid for governor, Burgum quickly signed into law a bill that created the state’s first Department of Environmental Quality. And in 2021, he announced that he intended to set North Dakota on track to become carbon neutral by 2030 through an “all-of-the-above” energy policy, including innovative methods of decarbonizing and diversifying fuel. 

His environmentally conscious image has taken a hit in recent years, however. His support for a multi-billion-dollar pipeline project that would gather carbon dioxide from across the Midwest and store it a mile underground in western North Dakota has riled both environmental groups and rural landowners. His close dealings with major energy firms — in June, Burgum brokered a meeting between Trump and oil executives at Mar a Lago — has also drawn criticism. 

For David Deaval, chair of the theology department at the University of St. Thomas Houston, Burgum’s tendency to adapt to political circumstances as needed shouldn’t come as a surprise for a politician with national ambitions. 

“He doesn't strike most voters as a man of conviction or a statesman who would try to convince Americans to move on these issues,” Deaval told the Register. “That doesn’t distinguish him these days from the public statements of other potential Republican vice presidents, including Catholics such as [U.S. Sen. J.D.] Vance or [U.S. Sen. Marco] Rubio, either.”

 

Republican VP Slot?

Despite offering little to the Republican ticket in terms of electoral advantage — North Dakota has only three electoral votes and hasn’t gone for a Democrat since Lyndon Johnson — Burgum, who is divorced and remarried with three children from his first marriage, finds himself on Trump’s shortlist of potential vice-presidential nominees. 

According to multiple reports, Burgum worked his way into consideration for the VP slot by demonstrating his intricate knowledge of energy and economics. 

“No one knows more about energy than anybody I know,” Trump has stated repeatedly on the campaign trail. 

Much has also been made of Burgum’s personal chemistry with Trump. The two men share several similarities, notably their shared passion for swinging big business deals.

Scott Jennings, a former adviser to President George W. Bush, has been impressed with Burgum’s ability to leverage himself into the vice-presidential discussion. 

“Nobody has played their cards better since the primary,” Jennings told Politico in May, adding, “Trump is a casting director. Who looks more like a VP than Burgum?”