South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem took the stage late Tuesday after a hearty reelection win in her deep red state, speaking behind a sign that captured her ambition for staying in the national spotlight: “America's governor.”
The Republican governor has sprung to national prominence during her first term as the state's first female governor, and her 27 percentage point victory margin — larger than many expected — seemed to prove the popularity of her hands-off approach to the COVID-19 pandemic and rightward political push. Noem is widely seen as a potential 2024 White House contender, though she told her crowd of supporters who gathered at a Sioux Falls hotel Tuesday she was looking forward to four more years in South Dakota.
