South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem appears to be showing off her bona fides ahead of what’s expected to be a competitive 2024 Republican presidential primary as she gave her second inaugural speech Saturday.
Noem, who won re-election by 26 points, spoke ahead of the speech, which included a reference to David Letterman’s famous ‘Top 10’ lists and discussed how her leadership can offer lessons for the rest of the country.
She was asked Saturday if she wasn’t ruling out a 2024 run and responded that ‘that’s fair to say. But there are a lot of people out there talking about running for president. I also know that politics changes quickly and things change on a dime on who’s going to run and who’s not going to run. I want the best person.’
Among her presidential rivals will be Florida Governor Ron DeSantis – whom her press secretary lashed out against earlier this week – and former President Donald Trump, a Noem ally.
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem appears to be showing off her bona fides ahead of what’s expected to be a competitive 2024 Republican presidential primary as she gave her second inaugural speech Saturday
Noem was non-committal about Trump’s presence in the race, but added that ‘we need a better president than Joe Biden’ who she termed ‘a disaster.’
The South Dakota governor spent eight years in the House of Representatives before running for statewide office.
She had previously been rumored to be plotting a challenge to RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, but ended up not running.
Earlier this week, Noem’s communications director ripped into Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suggesting the Republican rising star’s abortion stance was too liberal.
‘Governor Noem was the only Governor in America on national television defending the Dobbs decision,’ aide Ian Fury told the National Review for a story published Thursday. ‘Where was Governor DeSantis? Hiding behind a 15-week ban. Does he believe that 14-week-old babies don’t have a right to live?’
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s (left) communications director ripped into Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (right) suggesting the Republican rising star’s abortion stance was too liberal
In April, DeSantis – considered a top 2024 GOP presidential contender – signed a 15-week ban on abortion in the Sunshine State.
Florida’s Republican state lawmakers defeated amendments that would have allowed for exceptions in the cases of rape, incest, human trafficking and mental health, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
Exceptions were kept in place for cases where the mother’s life is at risk, there are fetal abnormalities or ‘irreversible physical impairment.’
In December, after DeSantis cakewalked to reelection by about 20 points, the Florida Republican indicated he would be open to signing even more restrictive abortion laws, The Orlando Sentinel reported.
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In his note to National Review, Fury claimed that DeSantis ‘just terminated his pro-life Secretary for AHCA, Simone Marstiller, the most pro-life member of his cabinet.’
Earlier this week, Noem’s communications director ripped into Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suggesting the Republican rising star’s abortion stance was too liberal
In April, DeSantis – considered a top 2024 GOP presidential contender – signed a 15-week ban on abortion in the Sunshine State
Marstiller, the now former Agency for Health Care Administration secretary, departed the administration in November, with Politico reporting that her exit had to do with a new lobbying ban, not bad blood with the Florida governor.
DeSantis’ office called the claim that Marstiller was let go under bad terms ‘absolutely false,’ according to FloridaPolitics.com.
‘Florida Right to Life is embarrassed by Gov. DeSantis’s record, so they invited Governor Noem to speak at their annual conference in October 2021,’ Fury also said.
Fury later took to Twitter to attack the reporter he sent the message to, the National Review’s Nate Hochman.
‘Nate is a shill for Gov. DeSantis. He attacks Gov. Noem using the once-proud masthead of National Review because he sees her as a threat,’ Fury said.
Noem, too, has been considered a Republican rising star.
At the Conservative Political Action Conference in February, she was voted No. 2 by attedees, after DeSantis, when former President Donald Trump wasn’t in the mix, in the event’s annual presidential straw poll.
Of course, Trump has already announced a 2024 presidential bid.
Recent polling, however, has largely ignored Noem as a potential contender.
Instead the Real Clear Politics polling average includes Trump – who still has a 18.2 percent advantage – and DeSantis, followed by former Vice President Mike Pence, former U.N. Amb. Nikki Haley, former Rep. Liz Cheney, Sen. Marco Rubio, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan.
Besides Trump and DeSantis, all the other candidates are polling in the single digits.
When asked about Trump specifically Saturday, Noem told Fox News ‘I still believe that he’s a good man and has good perspective on this and I think he is going to be part of the conversation going forward.’
