|
Burgum, 67, was a successful software executive and investor
before his political career and largely self financed his
candidacy. On the stump, he portrayed himself as a traditional,
business-minded conservative but was often lost amid the clatter
surrounding former President Donald Trump.
In a statement, Burgum announced he was suspending his campaign
but remained "committed to improving the lives of every American
by moving America 180 degrees in the opposite direction" of
President Joe Biden on the economy, energy and national
security.
While not a frequent critic of Trump’s, Burgum did reject
Trump’s false claim that the 2020 election was fraudulent,
saying Biden was the rightful victor. Even so, Burgum has been
reluctant to publicly condemn Trump's attempts to overturn the
election results.
Burgum largely stayed in the background in the first two
Republican debates and never enjoyed the kind of moment that
would help him break out of the bottom tier of candidates. In
Reuters/Ipsos polling, he lagged far behind more viable
contenders such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, not to mention
Trump, the frontrunner for the nomination.
In order to qualify for the first two debates, Burgum’s campaign
handed out gift cards worth $20 to the first 50,000 donors who
pledged at least $1.
(Reporting by James Oliphant, editing by Ross Colvin, Grant
McCool)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
