SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem and Attorney General Marty Jackley have sharpened their messages with ads criticizing each other during the final days of South Dakota’s high-profile Republican governor primary.
The exchange over the airwaves comes as the two political heavyweights campaign ahead of the June 5 primary election. A Noem ad takes aim at Jackley’s tough-on crime credentials, accusing him of being soft in his prosecution of a financial misconduct case involving the EB-5 investment-for-visa program.
The narrator says Jackley’s “tough-on-crime claims aren’t so tough after all.” Jackley released a spot criticizing Noem’s “deceptive attack ads,” saying she broke her congressional campaign promises to balance the budget, reduce debt and repeal former President Barack Obama’s health care law.
The conservative blog South Dakota War College first reported on the ads. The two campaigns didn’t immediately disclose to The Associated Press the amount of money they’ve spent to air them.
An Argus Leader and KELO-TV poll released Tuesday suggests it’s a close race, with Noem and Jackley running about even among likely GOP primary voters. Forty-five percent of respondents said they would vote for Noem, 44 percent said they would cast their ballots for Jackley and 11 percent were undecided.
Florida-based Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy’s telephone poll of 625 registered South Dakota Republican voters was conducted May 21-23 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
Jackley’s campaign said in a statement about the poll that the negative ads are an attempt to salvage Noem’s declining support.
“Now we know why Congresswoman Noem launched her negative TV and radio attacks against Marty Jackley last week,” Jackley campaign manager Jason Glodt said.
Noem campaign manager Justin Brasell released a statement saying Noem has farmed and ranched and served as a state lawmaker and U.S. representative.
“That’s a set of experiences her opponent, a government lawyer, doesn’t have,” Brasell said. “Those are the distinctions we’ll see in these final days of the campaign.”
The mostly polite race has shown some heat near the end. Last week, Noem pressed Jackley over the timing of a state payout to a former state agent, a charge Jackley’s team dismissed then as a “desperate political stunt.” Noem and Jackley were set to debate Tuesday evening on South Dakota Public Broadcasting.
The Republican primary winner will face Democrat Billie Sutton, a state senator and former professional rodeo cowboy, in the November general election.
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