Doug Burgum is a software entrepreneur, largely self-funded

Born in Arthur, North Dakota, a small town northwest of Fargo, Burgum attended Stanford University, where he earned a master’s degree in business administration. In the 1980s, he and his relatives bought Great Plains Software, a software company that eventually was purchased by Microsoft for $1.1 billion

North Dakota passed one of the nation’s strictest abortion bans that blocks the procedure at all stages of pregnancy, with exceptions for rape, incest and medical emergencies.

The question being posed to many White House hopefuls on the GOP side is whether they support Congress establishing a federal ban on abortion, which some conservative voters have been demanding in recent months.

Burgum told USA TODAY he would not support such a move, however.