I don't think many people were surprised that Gov. Doug Burgum did not take first place in the North Dakota Poll's presidential preference survey.

Like it or not, Donald Trump is a singular political figure among Republicans in this moment in history. He makes his own gravity.

Of course he was going to be the first choice for president among Republicans. He's also the first choice in Florida and South Carolina, despite the presence of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and South Carolina U.S. Senator Tim Scott in the race.

But did you expect Burgum to come in third place? Behind DeSantis? And just a couple of points ahead of Haley?

I expected him to do better. We talked about that on this episode of Plain Talk. We also discussed some of the recent off-year elections around the nation, where Trump's populist movement took it on the chin, and what that means for the durability of that movement.

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