North Dakota’s governor and former North Dakota State student body president, Doug Burgum, has announced his candidacy in the race for student body president.

Burgum formally announced his campaign Monday, after granting himself admission and enrollment to NDSU through the Divine Powers Act of the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education.

Burgum said his main cause for the race is that he misses campaigning.

He said he’s been so successful at it with almost no qualification, first being elected student body president as a sophomore and then being elected governor with no formal political experience outside of NDSU, that he wants to see if he can win a third time.

“Apathetic NDSU voters won’t care that my hands are already tied up in Bismarck. Hell, to them I’ll be doing what every other student body president seemingly does: nothing,” Burgum said.

Burgum also said being on the ground floor of NDSU as its student body president would be a very high quality, firsthand experience at seeing the effects of the budget cuts he initiated.

“It gives me a slight tingle of joy, seeing all the power I have as governor,” Burgum said.

Of his competitors

Burgum said student body presidential candidate Mason Wenzel reminds him of John Giese, another former student body president. Giese was a two-term finance commissioner before he was elected student body president in the late ’70s.

“Wenzel seems like he knows his stuff, too bad he’s running unopposed so his hot-headed ego will get to him,” Burgum said.

Burgum said Grant Gloe, a write-in presidential contender, is a rarity of NDSU.

“We didn’t have many, if any, gingers back in my day. I had to come to college before I actually saw one and I thought they had just been plagued by a disease,” Burgum said, adding, “Didn’t ‘South Park’ — my favorite show — run an episode saying gingers had no souls?”