Burgum emerges as surprise top contender for Trump VP

This is part of The Hill’s ongoing series looking at Donald Trump’s possible vice-presidential picks.

Less than a year ago, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum jumped into the Republican presidential primary with little fanfare. Now, he’s one of the leading candidates to be the party’s nominee for vice president.

Burgum is a former businessman who first built his name by developing a company into a major success before entering the political arena with no experience.

He won his first political campaign in 2016, when he was elected governor. He secured a second term in 2020 and launched a presidential bid last year.

His path to the national political spotlight in many ways resembles that of former President Trump — and Trump has taken notice.

Burgum is now among a handful of candidates being seriously considered to be Trump’s running mate. Those who know Burgum say he’s well versed on the issues, is well-liked in his home state and has a strong personal relationship with Trump that has boosted his chances in the veepstakes.

“He’s done a lot of good in North Dakota and is very well regarded, and I think he’s bolstered his national name ID,” said Dan Eberhart, a GOP donor and CEO of Canar LLC, a drilling services company with business in North Dakota. “I don’t think any of us really know what Trump is going to do, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Burgum overperforms people’s expectations.” 

Burgum, who is 67, is a native North Dakotan. He was born in the eastern part of the state in Arthur and attended North Dakota State University for undergraduate studies before getting his Master of Business Administration at Stanford University.

He built a successful technology company, Great Plains Software, which grew significantly under his leadership until it went public in 1997 and was sold to Microsoft in 2001 for roughly $1 billion. 

Burgum worked for several years as a senior vice president at Microsoft until 2007, and he took on various other business ventures until launching a run for North Dakota governor in 2016.

As governor, he has put a major emphasis on energy and agricultural investments in the state. Burgum also oversaw North Dakota’s Vision Zero project, a strategy aimed at eliminating motor vehicle crash fatalities through infrastructure and traffic law enforcement.

Burgum has been largely aligned with GOP orthodoxy on culture war issues, signing bans on gender-affirming care and the teaching of critical race theory. Like Trump, Burgum has said abortion policy should be left to the states, and as governor he signed a near-total ban in North Dakota in 2023.

“He is the type of person that if you’re going to visit with him about an issue, you need to know what you’re talking about or know your issue,” said Rick Clayburgh, the head of the North Dakota Bankers Association, who has known Burgum for decades. 

“He is well-read, well-versed on issues and he asks a lot of questions and if you’re asking for something and coming and discussing a piece of legislation you really need to know all sides of it,” Clayburgh said.

The governor’s presidential primary campaign in 2024 was focused on three key issues: the economy, energy and national security. He pledged to cut taxes, “dramatically increase” energy production and take on “common enemies like China and Putin.”

Burgum positioned himself on the trail as a China hawk, warning that Washington and Beijing were locked in a cold war.

Upon suspending his campaign last December, Burgum quickly endorsed Trump and announced roughly a month later that he would not seek reelection. He has traveled with Trump in the months since, introducing him at rallies and making frequent television appearances to defend the former president.

Notably, the North Dakota governor made an appearance outside the courthouse in New York to voice his support for Trump as he took part in a trial looking at a hush money scheme. Other potential vice-presidential candidates who appeared during the trial were Ohio Sen. JD Vance (R) and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.).

“This guy is the most solid guy,” Trump said of Burgum after winning the Iowa caucuses. “There’s no controversy whatsoever. And he’s one of the best governors in our country. And I hope that I’m going to be able to call on him to be a piece of the administration, a very important piece of the administration.” 

Trump has also gotten to know Burgum’s wife, Kathryn. The former president praised both of them from the stage during a May 11 rally in Wildwood, N.J., where the governor introduced Trump to the crowd of thousands.

“You won’t find anybody better than this gentleman in terms of his knowledge. And you know he made his money in technology, but he probably knows more about energy than anybody I know. So just get ready for something,” Trump said, comments that were widely interpreted as a sign that Burgum could be in the running for Energy secretary, if not vice president.

Republican strategists noted there are some similarities between Burgum and Trump’s last vice-presidential pick, Mike Pence. Like Pence, Burgum is from a deep red state and is a traditional conservative without deep ties to the MAGA movement. 

And like Pence at the time, Burgum has shown he could be exceedingly loyal to Trump without going off message and without overshadowing the former president, something Trump is keenly aware of.

Burgum is not term-limited as governor, but he is not running for reelection. That means he’s largely staking his future on a potential role in a second Trump administration, something those back home will be watching closely.

“The excitement probably is building a bit more now seeing that his name is being considered as a vice presidential pick,” said Clayburgh, the head of the North Dakota Bankers Association. “So I think there’s some excitement there. 

“I think in the beginning it was more, this is very exciting that he’s doing this, but what are his chances coming from a small state?” he added. “I think it shows his ability and his good political acumen and business leadership that he is being noticed.”