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North Dakota GOP Gov. Doug Burgum is launching two new TV ads in Iowa and New Hampshire this week, in the first salvo from his presidential campaign since joining the race last Wednesday.
Burgum is spending $3 million on ads in the two early GOP primary and caucus states. The governor is independently wealthy and, in a recent interview with NBC News' Henry Gomez, said he’d be willing to spend some of his own money on his campaign.
The first ad highlights Burgum's upbringing, his business and his time as governor.
"I grew up in a tiny town in North Dakota. Shined shoes, worked on the farm at the grain elevator and as a chimney sweep," Burgum says at the top of the ad.
He continues, "Those roots gave me the courage to literally bet the farm to grow a small business. Endless hours later, we grew it into a billion dollar global company, employing thousands."
The second ad focuses on Burgum's platform, which includes cutting taxes and adding funding to the military. He notes the "Cold War with China" as one of his reasons to support the military.
"Why run?" Burgum says in the ad. "First, fix this crazy economy. Second, unleash American energy production. Third, rebuild our military to win the Cold War with China."
Burgum is among almost a dozen others running for the Republican nomination for president, including former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
With this ad buy, Burgum's campaign will have spent more on TV ads than almost every other campaign, second only to Scott. However, outside groups backing DeSantis and Trump have also spent millions.
