When most state governors spouted doom and gloom, enforcing strict stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem saw an opportunity and it appears to be paying off.
Whether by design or as a happy coincidence, Ms. Noem is basking in a national spotlight and has emerged as one to watch for a potential 2024 run.
She kept her state open and even hosted President Trump for his first major campaign rally since the nationwide shutdowns — an Independence Day fireworks spectacular at Mount Rushmore.
Critics said the event was reckless during the COVID-19 pandemic and contributed to a spike in coronavirus cases in the state.
Instead of folding, Ms. Noem doubled down. She aired commercials nationally that tell Americans to visit South Dakota where it’s wide open, courting tourists and business to her state.
“2020 has been a wild year, but during this time Gov. Kristi Noem has stood out as a shining star amongst all GOP leaders — standing against the coronavirus fear and also holding the line on limited government by limiting the need for the federal government in her state,” said Ryan Rhodes, a Republican strategist.
“She has a very bright future now and potentially as a presidential contender,” he said.
Her political opponents accuse her of using the TV ads, which were paid for with $5 million of federal coronavirus relief aid, as a shameless self-promotion stunt.
Nikki Gronli, the vice chairwoman of the South Dakota Democratic Party, said Ms. Noem did the same thing in her speech at Republican National Convention in August when the governor failed to mention her state.
“People kind of thought she would highlight us as a state — some of the great things about our state — and we really weren’t mentioned at all, and I think people were disappointed in that. When she had the nation’s eyes on her, our state was ignored,” Ms. Gronli said.
She also said the relief money should have been better spent.
“Those dollars should be used for our frontline workers. They should be used for businesses impacted” by the virus, she told The Washington Times.
The governor’s spokesman, Ian Fury, said state promoted tourism for strictly economic reasons.
“That’s how people put food on the table,” he told CBS News.
Republican Party leaders and grassroots activists have taken notice of the 48-year-old rancher who boasts a compelling political and personal story.
At 22, Ms. Noem lost her father in a grain bin accident, quit school and move home to help run the family ranch and farm.
After expanding her family business and obtaining her degree through online education, Ms. Noem ran successful campaigns for state representative and then for the state’s sole seat in Congress. She served in the nation’s capital for eight years and then won the state governorship in 2018.
“She has a different look than the old white guy of the Republican Party,” said Corey Lewandowski, a GOP strategist and former Trump 2016 campaign manager.
Under Ms. Noem’s leadership, South Dakota has capitalized on the strict shutdowns in states such as Minnesota, where she’s airing TV ads to lure businesses to her state.
“When it comes to supporting companies and eliminating heavy-handed government interference, South Dakota means business,” the governor says in a 60-second spot airing in Minnesota. “We offer freedom from red tape.”
“Here in South Dakota, we trust our people. We respect their rights. We won’t shut them down,” she says into the camera.
States such as Minnesota saw strict shutdown orders that shuttered businesses and kept many closed even longer due to weeks of rioting following George Floyd’s death in late May.
Minnesota leaders saw it as a cheap shot.
Steve Grove, the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, said Ms. Noem was being “cute” with her anti-Minnesota campaign.
He noted that CNBC ranked Minnesota seventh on its list of best states for businesses in the U.S., while South Dakota ranked 28th.
“@Forbes best quality of life: MN=3rd, SD=28th. @usnews best states: MN=3rd, SD=27th. We [love] being neighbors though. When you succeed, we all succeed #MidwestPride,” Mr. Grove tweeted.
South Dakota Democrats also insist their state’s economic picture isn’t entirely bright under Ms. Noem.
Restaurants and retail shops suffered a new round of closings in South Dakota amid the spike in cases. The state suffered an increase in COVID-19 positive tests since large in-person gatherings were allowed at the president’s Mount Rushmore rally and at the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which typically attracts 500,000 bikers to the small town in western South Dakota.
A study released in September said the motorcycle rally led to more than 260,000 COVID-19 cases across the country.
Ms. Noem called that study, published by professors at San Diego State University’s Center for Health Economics and Policy Studies, “fiction.”
Johns Hopkins University researchers also questioned the study, saying there may be a spike in cases from the motorcycle gathering but not necessarily the huge number cited in the analysts.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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