South Dakota has succeeded where other states have failed, Gov. Kristi Noem said on campus Sept. 11.
Noem discussed her political philosophy and leadership as governor since taking office in 2019 in a speech hosted by the Hillsdale College Republicans.
“There is a difference in states and what they did during COVID that tells a story of different philosophies and beliefs,” Noem said. “Today I am going to tell you a tale of two states and how they made very different decisions over the last four to five years: South Dakota and Minnesota.”
Noem highlighted the differences in leadership between her and Minnesota’s Democratic governor and vice presidential candidate Tim Walz.
“It is remarkable what is possible in a state like South Dakota, and when I saw Minnesota under Tim Walz’s leadership, he pushed the mandates and restrictions,” Noem said. “As governor, he has had the freedom to be the true liberal that he is, especially during COVID.”
Noem’s approach to COVID in South Dakota included keeping businesses open and refusing to mandate masks and vaccines. This approach benefitted the state, she said.
“We have the lowest unemployment rate in South Dakota, because our people like to work,” Noem said. “They recognize the value of serving each other and their contribution to what that means to their family and their way of life.”
Before running for governor, Noem served as a United States senator on the Ways and Means Committee creating tax policy for the country and for South Dakota.
“I served there and got the chance to do tax reform and was thrilled to see it signed into law, and then decided that it was time to come home,” Noem said. “I was looking at the governor’s race.”
Noem said her motivation for running for governor was to protect the families of South Dakota.
“Our state was dying, and we were not being aggressive and making sure that our kids and our grandkids kids could stay there,” Noem said. “Your family should be your focus, but it is my job to build a stronger economy, a stronger South Dakota, and help it grow.”
The political philosophy of protecting families in South Dakota was motivated by the life lessons from her father, Noem said.
“My dad was a rancher, and he was tough,” Noem said. “I was his best friend, and he was mine. When I was in college, he was killed in an accident, and that changed everything for our family. I had to become the general manager of our farming operation.”
Her family bound together and faced the hardship of battling the taxes that were attempting to take money their family did not have, Noem said.
“That made me angry,” Noem said. “So when people ask me how I got involved in government politics, it was because of that I just started showing up to meetings about it.”
Her political career moved her from Washington, D.C., and back to South Dakota, where her election to governor made history.
“I was the first female elected as governor of South Dakota,” Noem said. “The day that I was being sworn into office happened to be the 100th anniversary of women getting the right to vote in South Dakota.”
Ian Fury ’15, Noem’s senior communications director, said Noem’s inaugural ceremony was indicative of the kind of leader she would be for South Dakota.
“She raised her right hand and swore the oath of office, and it is two promises to preserve and uphold the Constitution of the United States and to preserve and uphold the constitution of the state of South Dakota,” Fury said. “Those might be big promises, but they’re relatively simple promises at their core, and every decision is based on those two promises.”
Fury, who has worked for the Noem administration since April 2020, said her leadership is direct and transparent.
“Nobody ever has any doubts about what she thinks about something, or how she feels about a matter,” Fury said.
Noem’s political philosophies and choices reflect her strong leadership, President of Hillsdale College Republicans Hinson Peed said.
“We were very excited to have her here and she gave a compelling speech that was applicable to all of us,” Peed said. “It helped to remind us of our personal legacies and philosophies and how it should inform our lives.”
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Publish date : 2024-09-12 06:00:00
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