Gov. Doug Burgum suffers injury, unclear if he will attend GOP primary debates

Gitanjali Poonia
·2 min read
2
Republican presidential candidate North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum speaks during an interview following a town hall meeting with employees at Rueter’s Equipment, Friday, June 9, 2023, in Elkhart, Iowa. Burgum was transported to an emergency room in Milwaukee after suffering a basketball injury, and it is unclear whether he will be in attendance at the first GOP primary debate on Wednesday, Aug. 23.
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North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum suffered an injury while playing basketball. He was transported to an emergency room in Milwaukee Tuesday night, as CNN first reported.

Although Burgum, 67, has since been discharged, whether he will be in attendance at the first GOP primary debate on Wednesday is unclear.

“He has every intention of doing everything he can do to be there and will be at the walk-through today,” a source close to him said, per CBS News.

He is one of eight candidates expected to participate in the program, scheduled to air on Fox News at 7 p.m. MDT.

The Republican National Committee sets eligibility criteria for the debates. This includes a 40,000 unique-donors threshold, which Burgum met, in part, by giving away $20 gift cards for a $1 campaign donation.

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Candidates are also required to poll at least 1% in multiple national or state surveys and sign a mandatory pledge, which is a commitment to support the ultimate Republican nominee.

According to Fox News, Burgum, a former software company executive, has spent $10 million of his own money on the presidential race so far.

When he qualified for the debates nearly a month ago, a spokesperson said that Burgum was looking forward to speaking on the economy, energy and national security at the first GOP program.

“In less than seven weeks, Gov. Burgum has exceeded all the requirements for the debate,” the spokesperson added.

He is a lesser-known candidate, especially compared to former President Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner.

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But Trump is skipping the debates and will instead appear in a prerecorded interview with Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host. The taping will be released when the debate airs — at 7 p.m. MDT.

Other 2024 hopefuls participating in the debates are Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Arkansas Asa Hutchinson, former Vice President Mike Pence and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.

Ramaswamy and Scott took to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, to react to Burgum’s injury.

“Wishing Doug Burgum well,” Ramaswamy wrote. “Looking forward to seeing him on stage tonight.”

“Praying for your speedy recovery,” Scott posted.