June 8, 2023

"With Gov. Doug Burgum’s money and his family’s vision, Fargo, N.D., has undoubtedly changed in recent decades."

"Broadway, its main drag, is packed with restaurants, cafes, retailers and offices lovingly converted from old factories. Parking lots have been turned into public parks. A warehouse saved from the wrecking ball now houses North Dakota State University’s architecture and arts program. With a population of nearly 127,000 — 16 percent of North Dakota’s total population — the largest city for hundreds of miles is growing, in size and diversity, with a liberal tilt. But as a base for a presidential run, Fargo is still the smallest of towns, closer to Winnipeg, in Canada, than to Minneapolis, the nearest American metropolis...."

ADDED: Here's his announcement. Judge him for yourself:

37 comments:

M Jordan said...

First!

Limited blogger said...

So basically everybody is running for president. Cool.

hawkeyedjb said...

Great guy, very smart. I used to work for him. I could listen to him for hours, and sometimes did. "Q&A with Doug" often had time for only one question.

Compared to the numb-nuts clowns who are hoping to be president, he stands out as a completely different type: thoughtful, intelligent, and full of good ideas. And since he's about 100 years younger than the current mummy occupying the White House, he represents a Youth Movement.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

He is humble, grateful, and self-deprecating.
I like those qualities.

Bob Boyd said...

Fargo may be snazzy, but the sturgeon surfing scene is in Bismarck.

Dude1394 said...

There is no end to the number of Mitch McConnell republicans out there.

robother said...

Trump'll crucify him for those eyebrows. (The Body Politic: that's what's gonna Make America Great Again!)

Tom T. said...

He looks kind of like Henry Winkler.

TaeJohnDo said...

Small town, self made man. 'Small' (population) state Governor in a flyover state. Sincerely thanking his supporters. America has, and almost always has done worse.

MadisonMan said...

I'd love to see him get the nomination and run the campaign from Fargo if only to see the National Correspondents have to deal with a Bismarck winter.
At least he's a shiny new thing, unlike, say, Chris Christie. Why on Earth is he running, and why does anyone pay attention to him?

tim maguire said...

Limited blogger said...So basically everybody is running for president. Cool.

How many Republicans have declared? 4? 5? Why is that too many? Do you want an alternative to our seemingly inevitable 2020 rehash or not?

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Have you seen how wide the “group shot” of this field is? It’s ridiculous and each more ridiculous entrant (uh Burgum?) to the field just illustrates how easily Trump can stand out in this crowd. There is no organic energy eager to greet Christie, Pence, Elder, et al. I don’t get what makes men and a few women think they can succeed at such an endeavor. Arrogance? Ignorance? Narcissism? Greed? Few seem driven by a passion for fixing what ails America.

rcocean said...

I can tell he's a loser. If he was a good candidate, the NYT's and PBS would label him a "Righwing extremist" or "Full of hate". Just from watching, without the sound on, I assume he's just another Republican who's really a Democrat who likes big business. Did he blather about "we need to come together and solve problems" and "stop being do devisive"?

Another tell for a GOPe loser is they rattle on about "Smaller government" and "Personal liberty", which are code words for "I'll agree with the liberal/left on everything except supporting Big Business, and spending lots of $$ on the DoD."

BTW, Romney, Collins, Lisa Murky and every Republican Senator who voted for BIden's Zillion dollar graft omnibus bill has said they were for "Smaller Government".

Big Mike said...

And in 1992 an obscure governor with a mediocre record running the tiny state of Arkansas (state motto: “Thank God for Mississippi so we’re not always in last place”), and moreover plagued by stories of corruption and womanizing had no chance of winning his party’s nomination, much less beating a popular sitting President.

Michael K said...

There must be a reason for this. I can't figure it out.

Narr said...

I'm running, I just haven't decided which party to take over first.

Bob Boyd said...

He looks like Eugene Levy. I wonder if he has 2 left feet...or maybe 2 right feet.

William said...

He might draw some voters away from Christie.....There's something to be said for obscurity and blandness. If you seek escape from Sturm und Drang, he might be the go to candidate. Does he have a hot wife? A hot wife sometimes draws focus away from a candidate's blandness. Calvin Coolidge had a hot wife. It was a bit subversive to his image. Pence has a pleasant, comfortable wife. She fits in with his brand. I guess Melania is part of Trump's brand, but she's way too "trophy wife" for the women to be completely at ease with. I don't know enough about the wife of DeSantis. I guess she's okay. If a younger man like DeSantis has a hot wife, she doesn't come across as a trophy bride.

Jupiter said...

If he wants my vote, he's going to have to get into a little more detail about how exactly he expects to catch those dogs.

Mountain Maven said...

Vanity, vanity, all is vanity.

Richard Dolan said...

He presents as solid, normal, sensible, with lots of Midwestern modesty and the charm that goes with it thrown in. Given the players on the stage, America could (probably will) do a lot worse.

JPS said...

hawkeyedjb, 9:28 AM:

Interesting you used to work for him. I had been joking to myself about his candidacy. (Doug...Burgum is running? This is huge!) After reading your comment I decided to check out this video.

I still consider him a long shot, but I won't crack wise anymore. I could easily believe he's a capable executive, a good guy, and a sensible leader.

Aggie said...

He does look a little like Eugene Levy with those eyebrows, maybe a cross between Levy and Gavin 'Gruesome' Newsome without the hair gel. He's probably a decent, grounded chap, but he doesn't come across with the Big Personality, which means his chances are less than zero.

Aggie said...

He does look a little like Eugene Levy with those eyebrows, maybe a cross between Levy and Gavin 'Gruesome' Newsome without the hair gel. He's probably a decent, grounded chap, but he doesn't come across with the Big Personality, which means his chances are less than zero.

RMc said...

He might draw some voters away from Christie

It's tough to "draw away" something that doesn't exist.

Free Manure While You Wait! said...

"So basically everybody is running for president. Cool."

The field of qualified candidates increased exponentially when Time Magazine made all of us Person of the Year.

Free Manure While You Wait! said...

"I'd love to see him get the nomination and run the campaign from Fargo if only to see the National Correspondents have to deal with a Bismarck winter."

"I'd love to see him get the nomination and run the campaign from Fargo if only to see the National Correspondents have to deal with a Bismarck winter."

Even Minnesotans think North Dakota winters are brutal.

I spent a Thanksgiving week with a college friend in North Dakota (in a town near Fort Totten). During the entire week, it never got above twenty below. Day or night. In November, with December, January and February yet to come.

This is not an exaggeration. It gets so cold that people leave their cars running all night just to ensure they can drive to work in the morning. A lifetime of enduring that cold messes with the mind -- and not in a good way -- rendering every North Dakotan unfit for public office. And don't even get me started on the wind.

Gunner said...

If this guy somehow won the nomination, he would instantly become worse than Hitler, the Dems would drag out some girl he went to Middle School with to say he groped her and said the N word etc.

Gunner said...

Did the guys who ran 20/30 years ago have "organic energy"? Did Gary Bauer had organic energy? Steve Forbes? Dan Quayle? Why is anyone surprised?

walter said...

If you position family and friends in certain campaign roles, a failed run can launder quite a bit of money.

Drago said...

William: "He might draw some voters away from Christie..."

Its impossible to "draw" voters away from Christie...assuming my calculations of the gravitational forces involved are correct.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Fat dick stepper Trump will crucify him for those eyebrows.

Fixed.

Jim at said...

It gets so cold that people leave their cars running all night just to ensure they can drive to work in the morning.

No, they don't. I lived in Bismarck for two years.

They use block heaters and plug them in every night.

Clyde said...

I will be voting against Biden or whoever the Democrats nominate. If Gov. Burgum can get the Republican nomination, I would vote for him. I don't think he would be an incipient Swamper if he went to Washington.

JZ said...

Lots of Commenters think he looks like somebody. I was going to say he looks like Pat Paulson.

Leora said...

I don't recall the size of Little Rock Arkansas making a big difference in the Clinton primaries.

Free Manure While You Wait! said...

"No, they don't. I lived in Bismarck for two years."

My friend's uncle in Devils Lake did it. As did others. But then, Bismarck is one of them there massive metropolises, so it might be different there.