Burgum discusses abortion, Ukraine, and a crowded GOP candidacy for president

Bismarck, North Dakota – There are now twelve people vying for the Republican presidential nomination. Francis Suarez, the mayor of Miami, and Will Hurd, a former congressman, have most recently entered the contest.

In an effort to gain support, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum launched his candidacy for president a few weeks ago. Since then, he has been appearing on talk shows and at events across the nation. He spoke on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, when he discussed the importance of limited government.

Burgum, a Republican from North Dakota, said that many of the other issues that presidential candidates and the current administration are drawn into sometimes belong to city commissions, county commissions, township boards, library boards, or even the family itself.

Burgum has passed laws to support some of those assertions. For instance, he vetoed a bill that would have prohibited libraries from stocking sexually explicit books during this legislative session. His description at the time was “unfunded, one-size-fits-all government mandate.” He did enact a law requiring libraries to remove pornographic books from children’s sections.

Burgum has also answered inquiries about his political views; this morning on State of the Union, he spoke against the idea of a universal ban on abortion. He also shared his thoughts on the latest unrest in Russia.

“This moment shows the cracks within Russia, and Putin losing his grip on that country. We have an opportunity, along with our NATO partners, in this situation, to really get behind and support Ukraine. Let’s give them the support they need. Let’s get this war over now instead of having it be protracted,” said Burgum, R-North Dakota.

Burgum added that he thinks a competitive GOP primary is good for Republican voters.