North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R), a 2024 presidential candidate, loaned his campaign more than $10 million, making up the vast majority of the total contributions that he received for the second quarter.
Burgum made his campaign filing to the Federal Elections Commission on Friday ahead of the late Saturday deadline for candidates to post their second quarter fundraising totals. The filing revealed that his campaign raised $11.7 million during the first 23 days of his campaign leading up to the end of the quarter on June 30.
That total would put Burgum with a fundraising total above that of several other major Republican candidates who have performed more strongly in polling.
But nearly $10.2 million of that was money that he loaned to his own campaign committee, while only about $1.6 million came from contributions that donors made, the filing shows.
The campaign said in a release that it has received more than 200 donations in at least 20 states and is “quickly closing in” on the 40,000-donor requirement that candidates need to meet to qualify for the first GOP primary debate next month.
Candidates also need to meet a polling requirement of at least 1 percent in three national polls or 1 percent in two national polls and in two of the first four states to vote — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. They must also agree to a loyalty pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee.
Burgum has generally received no more than 1 percent in most polls of the GOP presidential candidates.
The governor has turned to a unique tactic to try to bring in more donors to his campaign, as have a couple other GOP candidates.
The North Dakota Republican announced on Twitter on Monday that the campaign will provide up to 50,000 individuals who donate at least $1 to his campaign a $20 Visa or Mastercard gift card.
“When it comes to providing economic relief to the American people, I’m not messing around!” he said.
Burgum, however, is not the only Republican candidate to turn to such measures.
The super PAC supporting Miami Mayor Francis Suarez’s (R) candidacy is offering donors the possibility of having a year of their college tuition covered if they donate $1. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is offering a 10 percent commission to supporters who will raise funds for his GOP campaign.