Burgum Comes Out On Top, Pledges To Unite Republican party
Press Release
BISMARCK -- Fargo entrepreneur Doug Burgum stunned the GOP establishment Tuesday with a convincing win over the party's endorsed candidate, Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, an improbable victory after trailing by nearly 50 points in a poll less than four months ago.
With 389 of 432 precincts reporting, the millionaire former Microsoft executive held a 60 percent to 38 percent lead over Stenehjem, with Bismarck oilfield consultant Paul Sorum a distant third at less than 2 percent. Complete results were not available at press time.
Burgum now emerges as the favorite in November in a state where Republicans hold every statewide elected office and voters haven't picked a Democrat for governor since 1988.
He told supporters in Fargo that he would work to heal the wounds of a hard-fought campaign.
"Now with the primary completed it's time for us to come together as Republicans, and I'm committed to unite the Republican Party," he said, as the crowd cheered.
Burgum said he would get in touch with Gov. Jack Dalrymple as well as legislative leaders to work on the transition and to address the fiscal challenges facing North Dakota, which has struggled in recent years with low farm and oil prices.
The entrepreneur-turned-politician promised a vigorous campaign with running mate Brent Sanford over the next five months, and said he was proud to continue a tradition of North Dakota businessmen whose first elective office was governor, joining Ed Schafer and John Hoeven. Schafer, in fact, broke ranks with the party establishment and endorsed Burgum last week, a helping hand Burgum acknowledged in his speech.
Stenehjem, who was first elected attorney general in 2000 and served in the Legislature for 24 years before that, was composed as he conceded the race to more than 100 supporters at the Bismarck Municipal Country Club at about 9:25 p.m. after speaking by phone with Burgum.
"I congratulated him on the victory. I reminded him that all of us who are elected to office are expected to govern and that's exactly what we will do," said Stenehjem, who is up for re-election as attorney general in 2018 but hasn't decided whether he'll run.
While his bid came up short, "in running a campaign that is positive and optimistic, we have won," Stenehjem said, drawing loud cheers from supporters who like him had complained that Burgum ran a negative campaign.
Burgum will face Democratic Rep. Marvin Nelson, a crop consultant from Rolla, and Libertarian candidate Marty Riske, a Fargo businessman, neither of whom is well-known on the statewide political scene. Dalrymple announced in August he wouldn't seek a second full term.
Stenehjem entered the race just before Thanksgiving, and given the state's strong Republican leanings, many pundits viewed his candidacy as more of a coronation -- that is until Burgum crashed the race Jan. 14 with his considerable wealth and personal success story as an Arthur native who led Great Plains Software in Fargo from a startup through its sale to Microsoft for $1.1 billion in 2001 and served as a Microsoft executive until 2007. Burgum now develops downtown Fargo real estate and invests in startup companies.
Burgum has been a major contributor to the Republican Party and its candidates, but his decision to seek the GOP nomination regardless of the convention's outcome rubbed many party faithful the wrong way.
State GOP Executive Director Kelly Armstrong said he was surprised by Burgum's margin of victory but said no one could take anything away from his campaign.
"I think this campaign was determined by a lot of hard work and hustle," he said.
Armstrong said the party will have to move on and unify before November. He noted Nelson received only a fraction of the votes the GOP candidates did -- about 15,900 to 102,300 with nearly 90 percent of precincts reporting.
"Regardless of our party in-fighting and our bruised egos and the problems we're going to have, this was a great night for the Republican Party," he said.
Still, Armstrong said Burgum's win "absolutely" damages the party's convention endorsement process, and party leaders will need to take a hard look at whether to continue with that format or switch to some kind of primary. Burgum's victory against the party's endorsed candidate follows in the footsteps of U.S. Rep. Kevin Cramer, who bypassed the GOP convention in 2012 and beat fellow Public Service Commissioner Brian Kalk that June for the U.S. House nomination.
Burgum's attempt to paint Stenehjem as a 40-year career politician who would maintain the status quo resonated with voters like 73-year-old John Sullivan, a storage business owner who voted for Burgum at the state Capitol.
"I am, like the vast majority of people, tired of mainstream politicians, and I think it's time to shake up the whole system," he said.
In an interview following his victory speech, Burgum said he had no way of knowing whether he got a boost from crossover votes from Democrats and independents. He said he was gratified by the magnitude of the victory, which he said demonstrated he got broad support from Republican voters.
Burgum attributed his upset to his dedicated campaign staff and volunteers -- an effort that continued through Election Day, when hundreds of volunteers worked to get out the vote in 35 communities around the state. "The best defense is a good offense, I've always believed," he said. He added: "We had a very sophisticated operation. That's all business experience brought to politics."
Asked Tuesday night what made the difference in the race, Stenehjem said, "A lot of it was just money. I just couldn't compete."
Burgum's campaign raised more than $1.1 million, including $107,000 from his billionaire former boss, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and he said he spent more of his own money than he raised.
Stenehjem, who also raised more than $1 million for his campaign, estimated Burgum spent $5 million to $6 million on his campaign, though Burgum accused Stenehjem of inflating that number. Stenehjem said he expected it to go down as the most expensive primary race -- and perhaps most expensive race for a state-level office, period -- in North Dakota history.
Stenehjem, whose friendship with Burgum was strained by the race, indicated he would be able to work with Burgum on the state's Industrial Commission, the powerful three-member panel that oversees the oil and gas industry and the nation's only state-owned bank.
"I think the people expect it, and they have a right to expect it," he said.
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