North Dakota Governor Election Night Results 2016: Rep. Doug Burgum wins

Impact

Former software entrepreneur and Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Burgum posted a resounding victory in his North Dakota race against Democratic opponent Marvin Nelson.

Burgum became wealthy through the growth of Great Plains Software, a Fargo, North Dakota-based software company he sold to Microsoft in 2001 for $1.1 billion. Burgum beat the state's attorney general in the primary to win the Republican party's nomination.

North Dakota is among the reddest states in America. Since 1920, the state has only supported the Democratic presidential nominee three times. The state saw sparse polling of any kind throughout the 2016 election, but Nelson would have been hard pressed to beat Burgum or any Republican.