
In August of last year, Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple announced that he would not seek a second full term, setting off the race to replace him. On the Republican side, Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem quickly established himself as the frontrunner in both the primary and the general election. A 24-year veteran of the state legislature, Stenehjem was first elected Attorney General in 2000 and is in his fourth term. He easily racked up support from a majority of state legislators and won the party’s endorsement. But, he didn’t have the primary race to himself, as businessman Doug Burgum jumped into the race in January. Burgum, 59, was born and raised in North Dakota. He earned his undergraduate degree from North Dakota State University in 1978 and his M.B.A. from Stanford University in 1980. He spent a couple of years working for McKinsey & Company in Chicago before moving back to North Dakota to work at Great Plains Software, a start up that developed accounting software. A year later, he orchestrated a buy out of the company, becoming its president. In
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The Cook Political Report is an independent, non-partisan newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the US House of Representatives, US Senate, Governors and President as well as American political trends.
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