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MILWAULKEE — North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum tore his Achilles tendon while playing basketball and may not be able to participate in the first GOP debate.
Burgum told reporters in Milwaukee during a walkthrough of the debate site on Wednesday afternoon that he had not decided whether to participate and would be consulting with doctors soon.
“Gov. Burgum sustained an injury while playing a pick-up game of basketball with campaign staff,” Mike Nowatzki, communications director for governor’s office told USA TODAY, referring other questions to the campaign.
Burgum, 67, is on crutches, and his campaign said he may not be able to physically stand.
He was taken to a Milwaukee emergency room on Tuesday. CNN first reported the injury.
Burgum did an early afternoon “walk through” of the debate stage set-up. His campaign had said it would reassess the situation afterward.
The Republican took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to make light of his injury, saying “this isn’t the first time” a pick-up game “has sent me to the ER.” He made no mention of his participation in the debate, the first one for Republican presidential candidates of the election cycle.
Burgum is among the eight candidates that qualified by the deadline to be on stage. Former President Donald Trump is skipping the debate and has indicated he will hold a competing event instead.
He met the debate’s donor threshold by giving out $20 gift cards to anyone who donated $1 or more to campaign. Burgum, who had less than 1% support in a recent Morning Consult survey, is largely self-funding his bid.
Burgum has brushed off his low polling, telling USA TODAY in an interview at the end of July that he sees an opening in the race for a candidate with a “fresh face and a different story.”
“Our focus is really on trying to introduce ourselves to the American public, because we’re the least known of any of the candidates who will be on stage, but we think we’ve got some of the best qualifications to actually lead the country.”
Contributing: Molly Beck
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