North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum drops GOP presidential primary bid, slams RNC debate eligibility criteria



North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R), who had been running in the GOP presidential primary, has suspended campaign.

The Republican National Committee has been requiring candidates to meet certain polling and unique donor thresholds in order to participate in Republican presidential primary debates. Earlier this year, Burgum had offered people a $20 gift card in exchange for a $1 donation, a move that helped boost the number of people who donated to his campaign. He made it into the first two Republican presidential primary debates, but did not get to participate in the third debate, which took place last month.

In a statement, Burgum blasted the RNC's debate eligibility criteria.

"The RNC's clubhouse debate requirements are nationalizing the primary process and taking the power of democracy away from the engaged, thoughtful citizens of Iowa and New Hampshire," Burgum declared. "These arbitrary criteria ensure advantages for candidates from major media markets on the coasts versus America's Heartland. None of their debate criteria relate to the qualifications related to actually doing the job of the president. This effort to nationalize the primary system is unhealthy for the future of the party, especially for a party that proclaims to value leadership from outside of Washington."

"While this primary process has shaken my trust in many media organizations and political party institutions, it has only strengthened my trust in America," Burgum noted.

The fourth Republican presidential primary debate of the 2024 presidential election cycle is scheduled to take place on December 6 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and will be moderated by Megyn Kelly, Eliana Johnson, and Elizabeth Vargas.

Former President Donald Trump, who has been participating in the debates, has been trouncing the rest of the Republican primary field in polls.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here !

North Dakota judge upholds ban on sex-change surgery and hormones for minors



A judge in North Dakota has dismissed a request to stop a law that has banned sex-change surgeries or hormone therapy for minors.

Three families and a pediatrician sued the state of North Dakota in mid-September 2023 and claimed that the ban on the procedures for children violated their civil rights by restricting their right to make personal medical decisions.

As reported by the Daily Caller, the lawsuit would have declared the law to be void and also asked for a temporary injunction while the case was ongoing.

Burleigh County Judge Jackson Lofgren denied the motion and noted that the lawsuit wasn't filed until five months after the law was in place.

North Dakota Republican Governor Doug Burgum signed the bill into law in April 2023. He said it was "aimed at protecting children from the life-altering ramifications of gender reassignment surgeries," the Associated Press reported.

The law made exceptions for medications for early-onset puberty or other rare circumstances, with parental consent. Minors with ongoing treatments were also allowed to continue.

The judge further explained that a restraining order on the law would allege that it is unconstitutional and thus is "one of the most extreme reliefs," Inforum reported. Therefore, the judge continued, plaintiffs must prove "beyond a reasonable doubt" that the ban violates constitutional rights.

Lofgren went on to state that the alleged "protected class" is not recognized by the state.

"The plaintiffs argue the challenged statutes are subject to strict scrutiny,” Lofgren reportedly wrote. "However, this heightened scrutiny hinges upon inclusion in a protected class not previously recognized by the North Dakota Supreme Court or a new application of state constitutional principles."

Punishments in the state for a doctor who performs a sex-change surgery or provides puberty blockers to a minor include up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000, or up to a year in prison and a $3,000 fine.

Governor Burgum had also signed a bathroom bill in April 2023 that posited that restrooms and shower rooms are "exclusively for males or exclusively for females."

However, for prisons it also stated that an "administrator or correctional facility staff member shall provide a reasonable accommodation for an inmate, including a transgender or gender-nonconforming inmate, as deemed appropriate by the administrator."

It did not provide a definition for nor state what a "reasonable accommodation" would be.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Tragic: Plane crash kills North Dakota state lawmaker, along with his wife and two children



North Dakota state Sen. Doug Larsen, his wife Amy, and their two kids passed away due to a plane crash.

The Grand County Sheriff's Office described the lawmaker as the pilot of the aircraft.

"Senator Doug Larsen, his wife Amy, and their two young children died in a plane crash last evening in Utah," North Dakota state Senate Majority Leader David Hogue communicated in an email to other senators, according to the Associated Press. "They were visiting family in Scottsdale and returning home. They stopped to refuel in Utah."

"I'm not sure where the bereavement starts with such a tragedy, but I think it starts with prayers for the grandparents, surviving stepchild of Senator Larsen, and extended family of Doug and Amy," Hogue noted. "Hold your family close today."

Larsen had served in the North Dakota Army National Guard for nearly three decades, according to a press release from North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum's office.

Burgum, who is currently running in the GOP presidential primary, said the state lawmaker "was a father, husband, coach, entrepreneur, businessman, state senator and lieutenant colonel in the North Dakota National Guard who committed himself fully to each of those roles with an unwavering sense of honor and duty."

"As a legislator, he was a tenacious advocate for individual rights and the freedoms he defended through his military service," the governor noted.

Adjutant general of the North Dakota National Guard Maj. Gen. Alan Dohrmann described Larsen as "a true patriot who dedicated his life, both in and out of uniform, to serving others."

During an interview posted to YouTube last year, Larsen had noted that he was happy to have the chance to serve in office.

Senator Doug Larsen's Straight Talk video podcast www.youtube.com

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

'Donald Duck': Trump, who skipped 2nd GOP presidential primary debate, targeted by competitors



Seven Republican presidential hopefuls gathered at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California on Wednesday night to participate in the second GOP presidential primary debate of the 2024 election cycle.

Debate participants included Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, author and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. Candidates were required to meet polling and fundraising thresholds in order to be eligible to participate in the debate.

Former President Donald Trump, who remains the clear primary frontrunner, skipped the event on Wednesday night after previously skipping the first GOP presidential primary debate last month. Trump delivered a speech in Michigan on Wednesday night.

During the debate, DeSantis and Christie called out Trump for skipping the event and for the trillions of dollars of debt the U.S. piled on during his White House tenure.

"Donald Trump is missing in action. He should be on this stage tonight," DeSantis declared. "He owes it to you to defend his record where they added $7.8 trillion to the debt. That set the stage for the inflation that we have."

Later during the event, Christie looked directly into a camera and addressed Trump, claiming that the former president skipped the debate because he is "afraid" of appearing at the event and defending his record. "You're ducking these things," he said, adding that if Trump continues to do so, people will call him "Donald Duck."

— (@)

Pence said that as president he would approach Congress about passing "a federal expedited death penalty for anyone involved in a mass shooting" so perpetrators "meet their fate in months, not years."

Haley blasted Ramaswamy, telling him, "every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say."

— (@)

Later during the debate Ramaswamy advocated for reducing "the federal employee headcount by 75%."

DeSantis said that he rejects the notion "that pro-lifers are to blame for midterm defeats."

At the end of the debate, Dana Perino, who was one of the debate moderators, said that if all the candidates on the stage remain in the race, Trump will clinch the GOP presidential nomination. She instructed the candidates to write down which of their competitors on the stage "should be voted off the island." The candidates declined to do so.

The next GOP presidential primary debate is slated to take place in Miami, Florida in November.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Trump was 'the elephant not in the room' at the first Republican presidential primary debate of the 2024 cycle



Eight Republican presidential hopefuls gathered Wednesday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for the first GOP primary debate of the 2024 presidential election cycle, but former President Donald Trump, the clear frontrunner who has been trouncing the rest of the field according to polling, was conspicuously absent because he opted to skip the event.

Tucker Carlson released an interview with Trump on Wednesday night just before the start of the debate, though reports indicate the interview had been previously recorded.

The candidates who participated in the debate were Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum of the Fox News Channel moderated the debate. About halfway through the event, Baier raised the topic of "the elephant not in the room" in reference to Trump.

When Baier asked whether the candidates would support Trump if he is convicted in court but is the GOP presidential nominee, six of the candidates appeared to raise their hands to indicate that they would still support Trump, while Hutchinson did not raise his hand. Christie, who has been an outspoken Trump opponent, made motions with his hand, but then indicated that he was not raising his hand.

When Baier asked whether any of the candidates would not support additional funding for Ukraine, Ramaswamy raised his hand. DeSantis said that U.S. support should be contingent on Europe doing its part.

Haley said that climate change is "real," suggesting that pressure should be placed on China and India to decrease their emissions.

Burgum claimed that there should not be a federal abortion ban in the U.S. because such a ban would be precluded by the 10th Amendment of the Constitution.

When MacCallum asked DeSantis whether he would support dispatching U.S. special forces into Mexico to target fentanyl labs and drug cartel operations, DeSantis answered, "Yes, and I will do it on day one."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Free money? North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum offers $20 gift card to people who donate $1 to his presidential campaign



North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who is one of the many candidates competing in the Republican presidential primary, is offering an unusual deal to people who donate to his campaign: For a donation of just $1, people can snag a $20 gift card.

"People are hurting because of Bidenflation, and giving Biden Economic Relief cards is a way to help 50,000 people until we get in office and fix this crazy economy for everyone!" Burgum tweeted on Monday. "Yes, 50,000 people will actually get a Visa or Mastercard gift card to their mailing address. When it comes to providing economic relief to the American people, I'm not messing around!" he added.

"We just launched a short time ago and already we're giving away about 1,000 Biden Relief Cards per hour. Get yours before it's too late!" he noted in another tweet a bit later on Monday.

— (@)

The unconventional move will help the GOP candidate meet the fundraising threshold required to participate in the first Republican presidential primary debate next month.

"It also allows us to secure a spot on the debate stage while avoiding paying more advertising fees to social media platforms who have owners that are hostile to conservatives," Burgum spokesperson Lance Trover noted, according to Fox News Digital.

In order to qualify for the August 23 primary debate slated to be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, candidates must meet certain criteria, some of which include polling and fundraising thresholds.

The Republican National Committee's fundraising criteria for debate eligibility stipulates that candidates must have "a minimum of 40,000 unique donors to candidate’s principal presidential campaign committee (or exploratory committee), with at least 200 unique donors per state or territory in 20+ states and/or territories."

Vivek Ramaswamy, an author and entrepreneur who is also vying for the GOP presidential nomination, has announced that people can join the "Vivek Kitchen Cabinet" program and earn a 10% commission on any funds that they raise for his campaign.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!