Will Gov. Noem run for president in 2024?

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum announced Wednesday that he is running for president.

In Wednesday’s announcement, Gov. Burgum shared the top three priorities for his campaign: economy, energy and national security.

The software developer who sold his business for $1 billion may be funding a large portion of his campaign for now.

“I would assume that he has the cash, if he needs to, to get some name recognition,” said Michael Card, associate professor emeritus of political science at USD. “But it’s really an issue between former President Trump and Florida Gov. DeSantis at this point.”

With Trump and DeSantis garnering over 70 percent of support from the Republican voters, some may wonder why others who have significantly less support jump in. Card knows there may be other agendas for running.

“I think there are other motives that some of them are trying to raise issues that they believe need to be brought up and considered by the candidates for President in hopes that they will make it onto that President’s agenda,” Card said.

With the list of those running for president, some may wonder what the next move will be for Gov. Kristi Noem.

Dakota News Now political scientist and radio host Jeff Stein believes it’s not too late for Noem or others to be added to the list of presidential hopefuls.

“I think there’s still time if she wanted to get in, but my sense is I don’t hear much about a potential run anymore, at least where I’m sitting,” Stein said.

Some may not want to go head-to-head with DeSantis or Trump.

“They look at this and say, ‘Well, if Trump’s in the race, I just don’t see my path.’”

Others open to a presidential race could be looking at the vice president position or waiting until 2028. While watching the political story reveal itself on a daily basis is intriguing, Card reminds us we are still very early in this race.

“In 2016, at this time, Jeb Bush was leading in the polls. Marco Rubio was second. If we look back to think it was 2008, Rudy Giuliani was the leading candidate. And they never really came close even to being elected,” Card said.

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