'She’s not very good at being governor': Kristi Noem's political future in danger as Republicans turn on her

'She’s not very good at being governor': Kristi Noem's political future in danger as Republicans turn on her
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem speaking at the 2020 Student Action Summit, hosted by Turning Point USA at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, Gage Skidmore
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According to a report from the Daily Beast's Tom Lawrence, Gov. Kristi Noem's plan to break out of South Dakota and became a high-profile figure in the Republican Party is blowing up in her face because has she alienated GOP lawmakers in her state who have grown tired of her act.

Noem, has closely allied herself with Donald Trump in an effort to raise her profile and set herself up for a run for national office, is finding few allies at home among the Republican leadership despite her popularity with voters in her home state.

According to the Beast's Lawrence, "Gov. Kristi Noem, who has been riding high in polls in her state, has never lost an election. She served four terms in Congress before being elected governor in 2018. The South Dakota legislature has supermajorities in both chambers, with Republicans holding 94 of 105 seats. No Democrat holds statewide office. But Noem has suddenly found plenty of opponents with whom to wage bitter political battles: fellow Republicans."

According to political observers who have been watching Noem's political star rise, she will likely still win re-election but may stall out there due to her war with her Republican colleagues.

"University of South Dakota political science professor Michael Card told The Daily Beast that Noem has raised hackles in part by the very nature of how she performs duties essential to her job. Specifically, he pointed to her repeatedly referring to South Dakota issues with terms like 'my bill' and 'my budget' in a state with old-school lawmakers who like to maintain their fiefdoms."

That, in turn, has angered GOP lawmakers who are the ones creating and passing the bills that she is attempting to take credit for.

With a GOP insider bluntly stating, "She doesn’t have any friends," the Beast's Lawrence adds, "State political insiders suggest Noem is basically alone in Pierre, and that even if she remains beloved by large swaths of the Republican base, her image has taken a serious dent among the very people she needs to get things done."

Add to that, Noem is the subject of investigations in her state which her opponents within her own party could use against her.

"One is Noem’s use of state airplanes for multiple trips out of state to appear at conservative political gatherings. For months, the governor has claimed she needed to keep details of her travels private for security reasons. Now the Republican-dominated legislature is interested in digging into those trips," The Beast report states. "Noem also has taken heat for her involvement in her daughter Kassidy Peter’s efforts to obtain a real estate appraiser license from the state. That led to a meeting between the governor, the state employee who oversaw the process, that employee’s boss, and other officials—as well as Noem’s daughter—as the Associated Press reported."

According to State Sen. Reynold Nesiba (D), Noem's problems with her GOP colleagues are self-inflicted.

"She’s not very good at being governor,” Nesiba explained.

You can read more here.

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