Governor Doug Burgum suspends presidential bid

(Bismarck, ND) -- North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum is officially suspending his bid to become the GOP nominee for President of the United States.

Burgum made the statement Monday morning to his supporters. The Governor and former candidate cited a difficulty making meaningful changes in national discussions without changes to the RNC's primary process, and highlighted the challenge especially applies to smaller candidates. 

"The RNC’s clubhouse debate requirements are nationalizing the primary process and taking the power of democracy away from the engaged, thoughtful citizens of Iowa and New Hampshire,"said Burgum in a statement,"The RNC’s mission is to win elections. It is not their mission to reduce competition and restrict fresh ideas by ‘narrowing the field’ months before the Iowa caucuses or the first in the nation New Hampshire primary. These arbitrary criteria ensure advantages for candidates from major media markets on the coasts versus America’s Heartland. None of their debate criteria relate to the qualifications related to actually doing the job of the president."

Despite the challenges, Burgum also cited several changes in campaign messaging from other candidates as wins. 

"“Before we entered the race, the national conversation centered on divisive issues best suited to be solved at the state and local level, and away from the essential, core responsibilities of the President and the executive branch as delegated by the 10th Amendment of our Constitution [...] Now just six months after our campaign launch, we’ve elevated the importance of an intelligent energy policy that grows jobs and our economy, reduces inflation, is good for the environment and – unlike Joe Biden’s fantasy green energy plan – stops enabling and empowering our adversaries, specifically China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela and North Korea.”

Burgum says he is grateful to his supporters and to each person who supported the campaign through "ideas, prayers, advocacy, encouragements, and enthusiasm". Burgum ended the statement by saying he will remain committed to fighting for the people "who make our nation so exceptional."