Burgum's a relatively non-ideological guy, isn't he? His background isn't in politics, and IIRC he won his first primary against far more conservative candidates. IIRC he got a lot of heat for not taking a position on abortion, even.
I remember watching a Bill Gates interview (on CNN I believe) a few months back about the pandemic and efforts/causes he's been undertaking to fight the spread of the virus. He mentioned talking to "his good friend" the Governor of North Dakota about work being done there (and if I remember correctly Gates referenced North Dakota's COVID-19 efforts positively). If you're a Republican politician and personal friends with Bill Gates you're definitely able to put aside ideology, at least among billionaire pals.
