South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has released video advertisements encouraging Americans to move to the Rushmore State, and she went on Fox News Channel to promote the campaign.
By running ads on national platforms, she’s stirring speculation about her national ambitions.
In the video, Noem discussed South Dakota’s number of job openings, its starting salary for apprentices, and its policy of honoring apprenticeships from out of state.
“South Dakota is hiring,” Noem says in the video. “And I’m a lousy plumber.”
Take a look —
South Dakota has more jobs than we can fill — that’s why I’m pitching in!
Freedom works here!
➡️https://t.co/D5xskWjLYd pic.twitter.com/jSxAg9OoFR
— Governor Kristi Noem (@GovKristiNoem) June 22, 2023
Other governors — like California’s Gavin Newsom — have also been running out-of-state advertisements to encourage moving.
Noem, like Newsom, denies any plans to run for president in 2024. Plus, she’s seen her profile shrink with the pandemic, according to Google Trends.
“I’m not convinced that I need to run for president,” Noem reportedly said on CBS earlier this year.
Still, Noem has stirred speculation about national goals other than just the presidency.
“Her latest ad blitz on behalf of South Dakota is the latest sign that she’s angling for, if not a presidential nomination, then at least a spot on the ticket as VP,” one columnist wrote in National Review Thursday.
Noem said in November that she’d be “shocked” to be picked as former President Donald Trump’s running mate for 2024.
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The Horn editorial team