North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and his wife, Kathryn, talk to attendees June 9, 2023, in Ankeny, Iowa. (Jay Waagmeester/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Republican presidential candidate Doug Burgum released two ads Monday that will air in Iowa and New Hampshire, his campaign announced.
The $3 million ad campaign will air on TV stations in the first two states to hold nominating contests — the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary — in 2024.
Burgum, the governor of North Dakota, launched his run for the presidency earlier in June. As he seeks to stake his position in a field of a dozen Republican contenders, Burgum is starting with less name recognition than some of his competitors, such as former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. In his first Iowa visit, many of those attending the governor’s event were not familiar with him.
In his talk with Iowans last week, Burgum focused on national security, energy and the economy. His campaign ads touch on those same issues, saying he choose to run for president for three reasons in the 15-second video titled “Why.”
“First, fix this crazy economy,” Burgum says in the advertisement. “Second, unleash American energy production. Third, rebuild our military to win the Cold War with China.”
In his announcement speech in North Dakota, the Republican governor said he differs from other candidates because of focusing on issues like energy and the economy instead of divisive topics. His second, minute-long ad titled “Change” touts Burgum as a “new leader for a changing economy.” It highlights his background growing up in rural North Dakota, using his inherited farmland to invest the seed capital for Great Plains Software. He sold the company to Microsoft for $1.1 billion in 2001, and became governor of his home state in 2016.
“As governor, we took North Dakota from billions in the hole to a surplus,” Burgum said. “We balanced the budget every year and passed record tax cuts, again, working together. Think what we could do with America.”
This article first appeared in the Iowa Capital Dispatch, a sister site of the Nebraska Examiner in the States Newsroom network.
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