HANOVER — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum wants voters to know that despite low poll numbers and a lack of name recognition, his 2024 presidential campaign isn’t going anywhere.

“The race isn’t over until the voting happens,” he told a crowd of about 50 people at Dartmouth’s Rockefeller Center for Public Policy on Thursday afternoon. Moderated by the college’s vice president for government and community relations, Emma Wolfe, the event was part of the Dartmouth Political Union’s “Path to the Presidency” series.

“I really like you; you seem like a nice guy. You’ve done a lot of really great stuff,” said Tobias Johnson, a Dartmouth senior from Oklahoma. Noting that he will be a Republican primary voter, Johnson asked what the path to the presidency would look like for a candidate with “no chance to win.”

A Sept. 13 Quinnipiac poll showed former President Donald Trump’s support among Republican voters at 62%. With less than 2% support, Burgum trailed well behind other candidates including Ron DeSantis, at 12%, and Vivek Ramaswamy, at 6%.

But with just three months until the Iowa caucuses, the Republican hopeful firmly rejected the premise that he is unelectable.

“America loves an underdog,” Burgum said, adding that “we’re gaining momentum every day and every week.”

He also asserted that despite the lack of name recognition, he is the most well-liked candidate in the race. “We’re like Ted Lasso: ‘Believe,’ ” he said.

Burgum, a former software entrepreneur, just barely qualified for each of the two Republican presidential debates and struggled for air time during both. A June 14 Quinnipiac poll on candidate favorability ratings found that 90% of polled voters hadn’t heard enough about him to say whether they had a favorable or unfavorable opinion.

But at the Rockefeller Center, the audience’s reception was warm, with the discussion interrupted by applause on several occasions. Questions from Wolfe and audience members offered Burgum open opportunities to speak to his preferred topics.

Threaded throughout Burgum’s talk was the importance of having a person with a business background in the Oval Office, along with a belief in the ability of technological innovation to improve people’s lives. From carbon capture technology to the ability of AI to extend life expectancies, his policy prescriptions tended to be technocentric.

“I don’t know how we can expect to have a leader in the White House who’s supposed to drive the economy that hasn’t had private sector experience,” he said, touting his understanding of the economy and track record of balanced budgets and reliable payroll.

Pushing back against the idea that the GOP primary race was a crowded field, he noted that only 12 people were applying for the “most important job in the world.” And some of the candidates for the nomination are, he said, “clearly not qualified at any level.”

Burgum’s strongest criticisms were reserved for the Biden administration’s attempt to “kill the U.S. oil industry.” Burgum said he believes that environmental policies on energy are not helping the environment and they are “making the world less safe.”

“We’re trying to eliminate liquid fuels in our country,” he said, describing Biden’s energy policies as destabilizing because of a reliance on what he called “intermittent sources of energy.”

“We’re on a path towards a generation of young people whose light switches are going to need a sticker by them saying, ‘May or may not work depending which party is in power’ or ‘May not work based on what the weather was today.’ ”

Dartmouth first-year Tyler Holforty, of Kodiak, Alaska, waited hopefully in the huddle of people surrounding Burgum after the event. He wanted to ask about Burgum’s plans for the Alaskan oil pipeline but also said he was surprised and pleased to hear a politician address the issue of polarization directly, something that he said he mostly hears voters complaining about.

Dick DeMarle, a Woodstock, N.H., resident who is a former Stanford classmate of Burgum’s, was happy to see his old friend speaking in a format that allowed time to fully express his ideas. He’d been frustrated with how little time Burgum had been afforded at the GOP debates.

Pleased with the audience and its engagement with Burgum’s ideas, DeMarle conceded that most people in the room probably didn’t know much about him.

“He needs to do something controversial,” he joked.

Christina Dolan can be reached at cdolan18020@gmail.com.