Doug Burgum

Education

On November 12, 2021, Burgum signed a law banning the teaching of critical race theory in North Dakota K-12 schools. During the first Republican primary debate in Milwaukee, he spoke of his belief that federal regulations are unhelpful to schools and that red-tape regulations harm teacher innovations.

Microsoft

After the sale, Burgum was named senior vice president of Microsoft Business Solutions Group, the unit created from GPS. At Microsoft, he was responsible for making enterprise apps a priority. In 2005, he expressed interest in stepping down as senior vice president to become chairman of Microsoft Business Solutions. In September 2006, he announced that he planned to leave Microsoft entirely by 2007.

Investment firms

In 2008 Burgum co-founded Arthur Ventures, a venture capital company that invests in businesses involved in technology, life sciences, and clean technologies. The group began operation with a $20 million fund and primarily invested in companies in North Dakota and Minnesota. By 2013 it had expanded operations into Nebraska, Missouri, Arizona, and Iowa.

Burgum is also the founder of the Kilbourne Group, a real-estate development firm focused on downtown Fargo. In 2013 he created plans to build the tallest building in Fargo—a 23-story mixed-use building—to be named either Block 9 or Dakota Place. It was completed in 2020 as the RDO Building. The company advocated for a convention center to be built in downtown Fargo. It acquired and renovated many Fargo properties, including the former St. Mark's Lutheran Church and the former Woodrow Wilson alternative high school. Several of the companies he has invested in are in Fargo.

In 2009, he was "urged to apply" for the position of president of North Dakota State University, but in 2010 he was passed over for Dean Bresciani.

Board work

Burgum served on the advisory board for the Stanford Graduate School of Business and was on the board of SuccessFactors during the 2000s, serving as chair from 2007 until the 2011 sale of the company to SAP. In 2012 he became the first chairman of the board for Atlassian, after it expanded from its initial board of three members (none of whom served as chair). During 2011 and 2014, he twice spent several months as the interim CEO of Intelligent InSites, a company for which he has served as the executive board chair since 2008. In the same year he became a member of Avalara's board of directors.

CO2 pipelines

Burgum has been a vocal supporter of carbon capture pipelines while governor, going so far as to allow three natural gas companies, Summit Carbon Solutions, Navigator CO2 Ventures, and Wolf Carbon Solutions, to use eminent domain to seize land to install pipelines. These pipelines would transport excess carbon dioxide captured from ethanol production plants in Iowa to facilities in North Dakota to store them deep underground. Many rural residents oppose the pipelines due to the fear of leaks as well as the seizure of private land to create them. When confronted about the issue at an Iowa rally, Burgum changed his position, saying he fervently opposed eminent domain, but insisted that carbon capture was good for the economy and the environment and that it would allow the use of traditional internal combustion automobiles indefinitely.

Abortion

During his 2016 gubernatorial campaign, Burgum was noted for saying women were "unsafe" before Roe v. Wade. In 2024, he said his position on abortion had evolved in that he believes abortion laws should be left to the individual states.

In April 2023, Burgum signed a near-total ban on abortion in North Dakota. While campaigning for president, he said that he would not support a nationwide abortion ban, preferring that individual states set abortion policy. He supported the Supreme Court decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization that overturned Roe v. Wade.

Gun rights

Burgum received an A grade on gun issues from the NRA Political Victory Fund and signed numerous laws that ease access to firearms. He has touted his love of hunting.

National security

Burgum deployed the North Dakota National Guard to the southern border with Mexico numerous times to assist Texas. In April 2022, he and 25 other governors created the American Governors' Border Strike Force to help one another with border defense against illegal immigration and human trafficking. He argued that energy independence is key to fending off China and Russia.

During the 2024 Republican debate in Milwaukee, Burgum expressed concern about China, claiming it is America's "number one threat" and that the U.S. should put "anti-warship missiles in Taiwan." During campaign stops, Burgum expressed disdain for President Biden's handling of foreign aid to Ukraine and his hostage deals with Iran. He blamed Iran for the October 7 attacks on Israel, and said Iran was emboldened by Biden's release of $6 billion of previously frozen Iranian assets.

Cybersecurity

In 2019, Burgum signed legislation to develop a central cybersecurity operations center for the state's network of over 250,000 users and 400 state and local government entities under the Executive Branch's IT Department-North Dakota Information Technology (NDIT). At his direction, NDIT began a Multi-State Security Operations Center to facilitate threat intelligence sharing and coordinate cybersecurity operations between member states. In 2023, he signed House Bill 1398, requiring cybersecurity education for all K-12 Students, making North Dakota the first state to have a cybersecurity education requirement for its students.

LGBTQ rights

In July 2020, Burgum called the 2020 Republican platform "divisive and divisional" on LGBTQ issues. He signed numerous veto-proof bills sent by the North Dakota Legislative Assembly during its 2023 session that have been described as transphobic, including a near-total ban on gender-affirming care for minors.

Entitlements

Burgum supports preserving existing entitlement programs, saying they should be federally protected. He also supports improving federal efficiency to free up more money for entitlement. In 2021 he signed a bill into law that exempted Social Security from North Dakota's state income tax.