Republican presidential candidate Doug Burgum hurt himself playing basketball and might miss Wednesday night’s GOP debate.
Burgum, the governor of North Dakota, is one of several Republicans waging long-shot campaigns to defeat former President Donald Trump in the Republican presidential primary ahead of next year’s election.
Burgum was taken to the emergency room after injuring his leg his leg and might be unable to stand.
“Unclear if he will be able to stand at debate,” a Burgum campaign spokesman said in an email. “Will know more later.”
The incident may cost Burgum his only shot at reaching a national audience, after essentially buying his way onstage by offering $20 gift cards in exchange for the small-donor donations necessary to meet the Republican National Committee’s requirements for participation.
Burgum’s campaign said it was handing out gift cards to 50,000 people, meaning that he theoretically paid around $1 million to get onstage in Milwaukee. The RNC required candidates to have at least 40,000 individual donors to qualify for the first debate.
The virtually unknown governor and former software executive has used his vast personal fortune to fund his White House bid from the start, loaning his campaign more than $10 million.