North Dakota GOP to Burgum: Don’t run for president

By Jennifer Yachnin | 04/06/2026 04:12 PM EDT

The Interior secretary got a single vote last week in a straw poll by North Dakota Republicans for 2028 presidential race.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum participating in a 2023 GOP presidential primary debate.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum made a short-lived bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Mark J. Terrill/AP

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is used to landslide wins: He won his second term as North Dakota’s governor with 66 percent of the vote, and 80 senators backed him for confirmation to his current role.

But his luck might be running out. In a straw poll at the North Dakota Republican Party state convention last week, Burgum received a single vote.

And according to one local publication, a few boos.

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The North Dakota Monitor reported that in a poll on the 2028 president race, Burgum placed last. The 134 voters picked Vice President JD Vance as the top candidate, giving him 65 votes.

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