North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum announces that he won't seek a 3rd term

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has announced that he will not seek election to a third term.

He has has been serving as North Dakota governor since late 2016, and his current term will conclude in late 2024.

Burgum, who mounted a presidential bid in 2023 before dropping out later in the year, endorsed former President Donald Trump earlier this month.

Trump has said that he hopes he can tap Burgum to serve in his presidential administration.

Burgum said on Monday that his decision not to run for re-election and Trump's comments are "completely not connected."

Trump decisively won the Iowa Republican presidential caucuses, and polling indicates that he is poised to defeat Nikki Haley during the GOP presidential primary in New Hampshire on Tuesday. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who placed in a distant second place behind Trump in Iowa, announced on Sunday that he was suspending his campaign and endorsing Trump.

Back in 2021, Burgum vetoed a bill to ban state officials from mandating face masks, but state lawmakers overrode the veto.

"House Bill 1323 would prohibit a statewide elected official or the state health officer from mandating the use of a face mask, face shield or other face covering," Burgum noted. "To strip future governors and their state health officers of any low-cost tool that might be used to save lives and livelihoods in a future pandemic or other emergency would be both irresponsible and an unnecessary risk to the future public health and well-being of North Dakota citizens."

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