Burgum To Announce His Campaign Intentions Next Week

Will Fargo businessman Doug Burgum run for governor or not? Seems like we’ll find out next week. He just sent out this press release:

Burgum has been polling, according to a report from a SAB reader who got one of the calls, measuring his potential candidacy against the other Republican candidates in the race as well as potential Democrat candidate Sarah Vogel (who is almost certainly running). The polling also asked about how respondents would feel about a candidate who skipped the convention and ran straight to the June primary. Or a candidate who lost at the convention and went to the primary anyway.

All stuff you’d expect a would-be candidate like Burgum to want to know before making a decision.

If Burgum does get in the race it’ll be a big deal. It would turn what seems like relatively easy win for Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem in getting the NDGOP nomination – I like state Rep. Rick Becker but I think it’s fair to see him as the underdog – into a really competitive three-way race.

It would also mean that the nomination likely wouldn’t be settled at the convention. I think the race, with Burgum in it, most assuredly goes to the June ballot. Which, one could say, might make things a little easier for Vogel or whoever the Democrat candidate will be, but I’m not so sure that’s automatic.

Rep. Kevin Cramer skipped the NDGOP convention in 2012 and took on Brian Kalk, who got the party’s endorsement at the convention, on the June ballot. It didn’t seem to hurt him at all as he went on to easily beat Democrat Pam Gulleson in the general election.

Anyway, seems like the speculation will be over next week.