How many of these guys are going to come out of the woodwork?
As Florida Governor Ron DeSantis preps to announce his campaign, other candidates are aiming to get out of ahead of him.
Clearly, it’s a sign that these candidates feel there’s an opening for someone not named Trump or DeSantis. Getting past Trump might be insurmountable, but a slew of polls usually have DeSantis around just fifteen points ahead of the third place challenger. There’s an opportunity to get some momentum.
So North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum is thinking, well, why not me?
He’s certainly a long-shot candidate. Most of the candidates have some sort of national profile. They’ve been in the press or have frequently been on Fox News to opine on a number of issues. At least among those paying close to attention to politics, most of these candidates are somewhat known commodities. They have influence outside their state.
But not Burgum. He’s already put a team in place ahead of his announcement. “There’s a value to being underestimated all the time. That’s a competitive advantage.”
Burgum has a point, at least when it comes to his personal history. He has business experience as a key software CEO, selling his company for a billion bucks. He came out of nowhere to win the Republican nomination for North Dakota Governor in 2016. And he beat the sitting attorney general by 20 points, no small feat for someone who wasn’t a known name at all in the political world.
Will lightning strike twice for Burgum? Doubtful, but he got a bit of national attention after signing a state-wide ban against trans participating in school sports.
And when talking about that issue, he might have a little more credibility.
He made waves when he criticized a resolution his state party issued about LGBT people. “LGBT practices are unhealthy and dangerous, sometimes endangering or shortening life and sometimes infecting society at large,” the resolution said.
In response Burgum countered, “As I’ve long said, all North Dakotans deserve to be treated equally and live free of discrimination. There’s no place for the hurtful and divisive rhetoric in the NDGOP resolutions.”
So, when many in the GOP have gone to the extreme edge in criticizing trans people, they might not be taken seriously when criticizing more legitimate issues like the trans infiltration of sports and blocking kids from life altering gender hormone treatment.
Burgum has the record and credibility to be taken seriously on the issue, which at least gives him a nice niche, and would make him a decent general election candidate.
That is, if he made it past the primary finish line, which is highly doubtful. And on Trump? The guy has been relatively mum. We’ll see if he comes swinging out of the gate or if he falls in line. Regardless, he’ll be an interesting one to watch.
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