2020 North Dakota gubernatorial election


The 2020 North Dakota gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of North Dakota, concurrently with other federal and statewide elections, including the U.S. presidential election. Incumbent Republican Party|Republican] governor Doug Burgum and lieutenant governor Brent Sanford were both re-elected to a second term, albeit by a smaller margin than in 2016.

Republican primary

The Republican Party held a state convention in the spring to endorse a single gubernatorial candidate. That candidate and his or her running mate were automatically placed on the primary election ballot. Endorsed candidates may or may not face competition from other candidates placed there by petition—as incumbent governor Burgum did in 2016. The winner of the primary appears on the general election ballot. All primary elections in North Dakota are open to all qualified North Dakota electors, regardless of party affiliation. The 2020 primary election was held on June 9.

Candidates

Nominee

Eliminated in primary

Declined

Democratic-NPL primary

At the Democratic-NPL Party's virtual state convention on March 21, the party endorsed Shelley Lenz for governor and Ben Vig for lieutenant governor. As a result, they were automatically placed on the primary election ballot, where they did not face competition from other candidates. The primary election was held on June 9, entirely by mail and open to all qualified North Dakota electors, regardless of party affiliation.

Candidates

Nominee

Declined

Other candidates

Libertarian Party

Nominee

  • DuWayne Hendrickson
  • *Running mate: Joshua Voytek

General election

Polling

with Heidi Heitkamp

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin
of error		Doug
Burgum 		Heidi
Heitkamp 		Other /
Undecided
1892 Polling July 15–17, 2019500 ± 4.4%62%33%5%

Debate

The two major party candidates, as well as the Libertarian candidate DuWayne Hendrickson, had a televised debate on October 21.