Wednesday’s presidential debate gives Burgum a chance to reach millions. What will he say?

FARGO — This week, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum will face what could end up being one of the most crucial moments of his presidential campaign since it launched more than two months ago.

Burgum is one of eight candidates who say they’ve met the donor and polling requirements to take part in the first Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee on Wednesday, Aug. 23. It’s the first major debate of the 2024 presidential race and an opportunity for Burgum to directly contrast himself with other GOP candidates before an audience of millions.

While North Dakota’s governor has spent millions of dollars on advertising, made numerous national media appearances and spent time on the campaign trail in

key early primary states like Iowa

and

New Hampshire,

Wednesday will be his biggest platform yet.

Fox News is carrying the debate, which is being hosted by the Republican National Committee at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. It begins at 8 p.m. Central Time and is expected to run for about two hours. It will be moderated by Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum.

According to debate format details

obtained by the news website Semafor,

the candidates individually won’t have much time to talk. There won’t be opening statements, and each candidate will have only 45 seconds for a closing statement. Each will get 60 seconds to answer questions and 30 seconds for follow-ups.

So, what will Burgum say in his limited air time?

Campaign staff declined to comment on plans for the debate, but in media appearances, Burgum has offered some clues about what viewers can expect.

In an interview at the Iowa State Fair with Forum News Service columnist Rob Port,

Burgum said he’s focused on introducing himself to the broader public and sticking to issues that affect everyday people.

“Some people lock themselves in a closet and try to memorize a bunch of lines,” Burgum said. “We have to keep campaigning right up until that day, and then start campaigning the next day. … If you’re the least known candidate in the pool, you’ve just got to keep getting out and meeting voters.”

If Burgum plans to stick to introducing himself and explaining his positions, it’s consistent with his campaign messaging so far. In ads, speeches and media appearances, he’s been sticking to the issues and avoiding taking direct aim at other GOP candidates vying for the nomination — including front-runner former President Donald Trump.

Discussing issues like Trump’s indictments for election interference or obstruction of justice is mostly of interest to Washington insiders and a distraction from real issues affecting everyday Americans, such as inflation and energy prices, Burgum told Port.

Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, second in polling to Trump, plans to defend the former president from attacks by former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and target third-place candidate and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, The New York Times reported last week.

Former Vice President Mike Pence has been practicing against a person playing the role of Trump, according to news reports.

As of Friday, eight candidates have qualified for the GOP debate: Trump, DeSantis, Ramaswamy, Pence, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, Christie and Burgum.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said he qualified on Friday, but his claim hadn’t been verified.

Trump, who is by far the front-runner in the GOP primary and on average is at over 50% support in polls, is skipping the debate and instead sitting down for an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. News of his decision broke Friday after weeks of uncertainty over whether he’d participate.

If Suarez qualifies, there will likely be eight candidates on the stage — though a few on Friday had yet to sign a pledge to honor the party’s presidential nominee.

Most of the candidates who will appear on stage Wednesday already have wide name recognition, something Burgum has fought to gain over the last two months.

When Burgum officially announced his candidacy on June 7, he had a steep climb to reach the first debate stage. In order to qualify, he had to get 40,000 individual donors and reach 1% support in three polls. Two of the polls had to be national, and the others could be from early primary states such as New Hampshire or Iowa.

Hitting that donor mark took a unique strategy:

Burgum offered $20 gift cards to anyone who contributed $1

to his campaign and was able to quickly hit the threshold in July. He hit polling requirements the same month, though in order to get to the second debate he’ll have to reach 3% support in three national polls.

In an interview with Politico Playbook Deep Dive podcast host Ryan Lizza, Burgum said he reached fourth place in polls in Iowa and New Hampshire with his current level of name recognition. With a boost from the first debate, he said, he’ll be positioned to keep growing and reach the level he needs to qualify for the second debate.

The second debate is set to take place Wednesday, Sept. 27, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.