The Republican Party’s field of presidential candidates for the upcoming 2024 election continues to dwindle one by one in recognition of frontrunner Donald Trump. And now it appears we have another candidate up on the chopping block: North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.
The current debate criteria requires candidates to have at least 4% support in either two national polls or one national poll and two state polls. Unfortunately for Gov. Burgum, he has been unable to meet this threshold and it could end his campaign prematurely.
Doug Burgum has officially lasted longer than the former Vice President of the United States. What a time to be alive.https://t.co/NpV8COfr2a
— Michael Knowles (@michaeljknowles) October 28, 2023
At present, former President Donald Trump leads the pack with 59.3% support according to RealClearPolitics’ polling average on Thursday, November 2. Following closely behind is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis with 13.4%.
Former U.N Ambassador Nikki Haley has 8.3%, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy has 4.6%, and all other remaining candidates are below 3%. As of Monday, Gov. Burgum was at 3% in Iowa – not enough for him to qualify for the upcoming debate in Miami that’s scheduled for Wednesday night, November 8.
It’s very possible that if Gov Burgum were to endorse another candidate and rally his supporters around them it could create a ripple effect that would disrupt Trump’s lead as well as other frontrunners like DeSantis and Haley. However, their chances of success are still slim due to the current state of polling numbers across early nominating states like Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
Another potential candidate who dropped out last month was Larry Elder who ultimately endorsed Trump – further solidifying his frontrunner status among Republicans vying for president this year.
With only five candidates currently qualified for Wednesday’s debate (and many more struggling), we could see even more dropping out before then as well – leaving some big questions about who these voters will ultimately cast their ballots for when November comes around. Regardless though this race continues to be unpredictable and exciting as ever.
