Presidential candidate Doug Burgum takes credit for North Dakota term limits. Is that accurate?

FARGO — On the presidential campaign trail, Doug Burgum has touted achievements during his tenure as North Dakota governor, like tax cuts and balanced budgets.

But when he takes credit for the state enacting term limits for the governor and state legislators this year, it leaves some of the policy’s biggest supporters scratching their heads.

Burgum pointed to term limits as one of his achievements in his campaign announcement speech on June 7 and has used them as a selling point in pamphlets distributed in Iowa as he spends millions to get his name out in TV ads and mailers in early primary states.

While Burgum has expressed support for term limits for years, it was North Dakota voters, not the governor, who approved the policy through a ballot measure in the 2022 election.

In North Dakota, petitioners who gather enough signatures in support of an issue can put a question directly to voters, bypassing the need for elected officials to enact new policies. It was through that process, not the governor and Legislature, that the state created term limits.

Many who backed the measure were part of a political group often in conflict with Burgum. Backers of the measure included former legislator and perennial statewide candidate Rick Becker, the founder of the right-wing Bastiat Caucus — a group of lawmakers that is often a thorn in the side of the state’s traditional conservative Republican establishment.

“He as a candidate is taking credit where actually the credit is deserved by others,” said Becker, a former Republican who ran against Burgum in 2016. “And in the case of term limits, deserved by not only the people that were behind it but by the voters of North Dakota.”

Term limits are often championed by populists as a way to challenge the status quo by getting career politicians out of office, and Becker said he believes Burgum is trying to tie his name to an issue that will resonate with GOP primary voters.

Interestingly, Burgum’s support for term limits is a point of departure between him and the more traditional Republicans he tends to align with more closely.

Many longtime lawmakers in the North Dakota Legislature, including former House Majority Leader Chet Pollert, R-Carrington, and former Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner, R-Dickinson, opposed term limits.

The state’s Republican Party did not take an official stance on the measure, though former party chairman Perrie Schafer told Forum News Service the measure was a bad idea. The Democratic-NPL also opposed term limits.

Meanwhile, much of the support for the 2022 term limits ballot measure came from ultra-conservative lawmakers. including former Rep. Becker and then Rep. and now Sen. Jeff Magrum, R-Hazelton.

Burgum in September 2022 told The Forum he supported the term limits, but when asked why Burgum supported the term limits ballot measure, a spokesman did not respond. Burgum did not campaign for term limits in 2022 and expressed his support in a statement after The Forum inquired about his stance.

“While most statewide offices aren’t included in the measure, it’s a good first step and we support it and encourage North Dakotans to give it their full consideration,” Burgum told The Forum in a statement last September.

Since Burgum didn’t come out in direct support, he can’t truly take any credit, Magrum said.

“We liked it that he didn’t oppose it, but he never did necessarily support the measure directly,” Magrum said. “I think he knew politically it was the right move.”

Though it’s worth noting Burgum had backed the idea for years — as a candidate for governor in 2016, he positioned himself as an anti-career politician with his support for the policy.

In a 2016 advertisement, he called for term limits “to break up the good ol’ boy network, because politicians are too cozy with lobbyists and special interests,” Forum News Service reported at the time.

Despite his stated support for the measure, Burgum, who’s made major political donations to unseat lawmakers who impede his policy goals, did not provide any financial backing for term limits.

Burgum’s political committee Dakota Leadership PAC did not contribute to the ballot measure campaign. However, Burgum had used the same committee to spend more than $1.2 million to influence North Dakota legislative races.

Term limits, which went into effect in January, won’t immediately apply to Burgum, who under the new rules can seek a third term in office if he chooses.

The governor, state senators and state representatives are now limited to eight years in office. Members of the Legislature can serve eight years in each the House and Senate. Limits do not apply to other statewide offices like secretary of state and attorney general.

So far it’s been unclear what Burgum’s plans are if he drops out of the presidential race. If he ran for governor again, the election would be in 2024.

Burgum officially announced his intent to run for president in early June and has been working on getting the national name recognition and donor base he’ll need to compete with longer-established GOP candidates with higher profiles.