JACK DURA, Associated Press

43 mins ago

FILE – North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is interviewed on FOX News Sunday, moderated by Shannon Bream, in Washington, June 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota Republican Gov. Doug Burgum is little known on the national stage but is now considered one of the top candidates to replace former President Donald Trump as vice president.

The wealthy software entrepreneur has run North Dakota like a CEO, championing business-focused causes like income tax cuts and tech improvements for state government, from cybersecurity to state websites. He hasn't been outspoken on social issues, even though the state's Republican-led legislature sent him a barrage of anti-LGBTQ+ bills last year. But after vetoing some of the legislation in 2021 and 2023, he later signed most of them – around the same time he was preparing a 2024 presidential bid that fizzled within months.

Here are some insights into Burgum and his actions:

Coming from a small town, Burgum became a wealthy manager

Burgum, 67, grew up in a small town in North Dakota. After college, he ran Great Plains Software, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2001 for $1.1 billion. Burgum remained a vice president at Microsoft until 2007. He then ran other companies in real estate development and venture capital.

Burgum was best known as a software executive and businessman before his surprise gubernatorial election in 2016, when he defeated the state's longtime attorney general in the Republican primary. His campaign theme was “reinventing” government as the state struggled with a billion-dollar revenue deficit.

As governor, he focused on economic, not social, issues

Burgum campaigned as business leader in 2016 and has governed with the same approach since then, talking about “treating taxpayers like customers.” He brought some Microsoft veterans and other people from the private sector into state government.

He has pushed income tax cuts, cybersecurity improvements, improvements to government websites, cuts to government regulations, and changes to higher education administration and animal husbandry laws. The planned Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library is one of his major efforts.

Burgum can speak at length about carbon capture, energy policy and other topics that interest him. He frequently brags about North Dakota's underground “geological jackpot” for carbon storage and promotes an “innovation over regulation” approach.

People who worked with him in the governor's office say he is extremely curious and works long hours.

Burgum's positions on LGBTQ+ issues have changed

Democratic and Republican lawmakers who have worked with Burgum say it was disappointing to see him sign a bundle of anti-LGBTQ+ bills in 2023, and that he may have had his eye on the national stage. Burgum launched a run for president in June 2023, about a month after the legislative session ended.

In 2021, Burgum vetoed a bill that would have banned transgender girls from girls' sports in public schools. In early 2023, he vetoed a bill that he said would turn teachers into “pronoun police.”

But later in the 2023 session, as he prepared to run for president, he signed a series of bills restricting transgender people, including a ban on gender-affirming medical treatments for children and two sports bans similar to the bill he vetoed in 2021.

He also signed a bill banning books, but vetoed an even more far-reaching one. Opponents said the bills targeted LGBTQ+ literature.

Burgum also signed a bill to overhaul North Dakota's abortion laws after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The state's abortion ban is one of the strictest in the U.S. Burgum has not spoken out on LGBTQ+ issues or abortion.

Burgum ended his presidential campaign in December 2023 after failing to win. The following month, he announced that he would not seek a third term as governor.