Doug Burgum Finally Calls It Quits

The presidential campaign of Doug Burgum has finally come to an end.

Burgum was a long-shot candidate from the outset, never really gaining any grip and barely making the cut for the second debate, not making it for the third or fourth.

Finally, on Monday morning, Burgum decided to suspend his campaign.

Time to Call It Quits

Burgum was actually a very likable candidate and had some very good common sense answers, but he just did not have the profile to compete in this field.

He is independently wealthy, having been the CEO of a software company before becoming the governor of North Dakota. He is, more or less, a dampened-down version of Donald Trump.

Upon announcing the suspension of his campaign, Burgum stated that he and his wife "are deeply grateful for each and every person who supported us with their ideas, prayers, advocacy, encouragement, and enthusiasm. Kathryn and I will always remain committed to fighting for the people who make our nation so exceptional."

Burgum went nuclear on the RNC for its debate requirements, stating, "The RNC’s clubhouse debate requirements are nationalizing the primary process and taking the power of democracy away from the engaged, thoughtful citizens of Iowa and New Hampshire.”

He continued, "The RNC’s mission is to win elections. It is not their mission to reduce competition and restrict fresh ideas by ‘narrowing the field’ months before the Iowa caucuses or the first in the nation New Hampshire primary.

“These arbitrary criteria ensure advantages for candidates from major media markets on the coasts versus America’s Heartland.

"None of their debate criteria relate to the qualifications related to actually doing the job of the president. This effort to nationalize the primary system is unhealthy for the future of the party, especially for a party that proclaims to value leadership from outside of Washington."

I can understand his frustration, but I definitely do not agree with his assessment of the debate qualification system.

The rules are in place to get the candidates down to legitimate contenders by the time the last debate airs, and he had more than enough opportunity to make an impression over the first two debates, but Burgum was barely a blip on the radar during this entire process.

You guys know I love to throw shade at the RNC, but it is not the RNC’s fault that his campaign failed to generate any interest, which is a shame because I really do think he is a solid candidate.

With Burgum now out, there are only six candidates remaining: Trump, DeSantis, Haley, Ramaswamy, Christie, and Hutchinson.

Hutchinson was never a serious contender and he is currently sitting at less than 1% in support. Christie somehow made the cut for the upcoming debate with only a 3% national average, but he is probably the only friendly face that DeSantis has in the field right now.

Christie will join Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, and Vivek Ramaswamy on the debate stage, with Trump again refusing to attend the debate to have his record challenged.

With the way things have been going, I fully expect Haley and Ramaswamy to focus on DeSantis, especially Haley, who has had a big surge.

Even though Haley has no shot at beating Trump, her real purpose seems to be to take out DeSantis, then grab a high-ranking post in Trump’s cabinet if he wins the general election.