His presidential bid over, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum says he won’t seek a third term as governor

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota Republican Gov. Doug Burgum announced Monday that he will not seek a third term as governor, over a month after he ended his bid for the GOP presidential nomination.

His recent endorsement of former President Donald Trump, and Trump’s praise of the little-known governor, have fueled speculation about Burgum serving in a second Trump administration.

Burgum, 67, is a wealthy software entrepreneur who won an upset victory in 2016 over the state’s popular attorney general in the Republican gubernatorial primary election.

Before becoming governor, Burgum was best known as a software executive. He led Great Plains Software through its acquisition by Microsoft in 2001 for over $1 billion. He was a Microsoft executive until 2007, and has led other companies in real estate development and venture capital.

Burgum poured over $12 million of his own money into his presidential campaign, which he ended in December after six months. He drew attention for giving $20 gift cards to donors in order to meet donation requirements for the debate stage, and criticized debate qualification criteria as arbitrary.