Is Kristi Noem another Sarah Palin? Not really, because SD’s governor has built an impressive resume
Is Kristi Noem another Sarah Palin?
In some ways, yes. But in others, they are very different people with markedly different careers.
That comparison, which is somewhat based the fact that they are attractive dark-haired women, has been made for more than a decade. When Noem ran for Congress in 2010, it was shortly after the 2008 presidential election, when Palin ran as the vice presidential candidate with Republican nominee Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
Palin (seen above as Alaska’s governor in a public domain image posted on wikimedia commons) initially made a positive splash after she was the surprise choice as McCain’s running mate. I interviewed some South Dakota delegates who attended the 2008 Republican National Convention, and they raved about her speech and presence.
Ron Schmidt, who had been a national committeeman since 1993, predicted Palin would help McCain with female and blue-collar voters.
“A lot of Hillary Democrats in South Dakota, I think, will be strongly in support of McCain,” Schmidt told me.
He said McCain made a smart choice. “Absolutely. Couldn’t have been better,” he said.
The governor of Alaska was seen as a fresh face with a conservative point of view,
But that soon faded, as Palin was embarrassed in several interviews that revealed a lack of depth and a failure to be able to discuss important issues. News stories about her lavish spending on campaign clothing, hair and makeup and her refusal to work with the McCain team soon became the story.
After an initial burst of support, the McCain-Palin team went down to defeat to Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Joe Biden of Delaware. McCain returned to the Senate, and Palin went back to Alaska, but she was not happy in that job after coming so close to Washington, D.C.
She resigned as governor on July 3, 2009, under a cloud of ethics investigations. Since then, Palin has written a memoir, and a second book, hosted TV shows, served as a Fox News contributor and hinted at a run for the presidency in 2012.
Her reputation has suffered. Steve Schmidt, who was a close advisor to McCain, said choosing her as his running mate was a terrible error. In 2022, as she was seeking a comeback by running for Congress, Schmidt was blunt in his assessment of her performance in the 2008 presidential race.
“When the campaign ended I refused to let Sarah Palin speak,” Schmidt wrote on Twitter. “I placed the phone call to Barack Obama for the concession and did everything I could to make sure a beautiful speech wasn’t disgraced by the nut ball from Alaska.”
McCain said choosing her as his partner was a “mistake” and they did not remain in touch. When McCain died in 2018, Palin was not invited to any of the memorial services.
Palin’s husband Todd filed for divorce and their marriage ended in 2020. She attempted a political comeback in 2022, but lost in a bid for Alaska’s lone U.S. House of Representatives seat.
Her political career is not very impressive. Palin served one term on the Wasilla City Council, two terms as mayor, and finished second in a 2002 primary to be the GOP candidate for lieutenant governor. She served slightly more than half a term as governor of Alaska and was a defeated VP candidate.
Palin is just 59 years old, but her political career appears over, and her fame has faded as well.
Noem, on the other hand, has been in politics for two decades. After serving for years in the South Dakota House of Representatives, she was elected to Congress in 2010 and served four terms.
Noem was elected governor in 2018 and re-elected in 2022. She has never lost an election, defeating opponents with big names and reputations as well as political newcomers.
Noem is easily the most successful woman in South Dakota political history, and one of the most successful politicians, period.
She has allied herself with former President Donald J. Trump for several years, flattering him with lavish words and arranging for him to be given a bust of Mount Rushmore with his face added. Noem is aware there is no such thing as too much praise for Trump, who needs it like a junkie craves a hit.
Noem has campaigned across the country for Trump and other candidates, while also making sure people knew her name. She was praised for her performance and “salt-of-the-earth” style at the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference and has made other high-profile appearances in recent years.
Noem toyed with a presidential run this time before backing away and hoping for the VP slot on a Trump ticket. Right now, at least one poll shows her as a favorite for the running-mate slot, and Trump has admitted he is considering her.
Would Noem wilt like Palin in the national spotlight? I doubt it. She is by nature extremely confident and welcomes a challenge and a confrontation.
I covered her debates with Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin at Dakotafest and again at the Corn Palace in 2010. Herseth Sandlin was the incumbent congresswoman with the glittering education and a prominent South Dakota political name.
Noem had emerged from relative obscurity that summer when she became the Republican nominee to take on SHS, who was coming off two straight landslide wins. Noem stood toe-to-toe with the Democratic incumbent and did not lose ground in their head-to-head meetings.
She won a narrow victory that year, breezed to three more terms in the House and after winning the governorship in a close race with Billie Sutton in 2018, was easily re-elected in 2022. Noem cannot seek a third consecutive term as governor, and Republicans hold both Senate seats and our lone congressional seat.
At 52, she is hardly ready to retire, and I can’t imagine her returning to Castlewood to tend to the family businesses. Clearly, she is hoping to jump on the Trump Train and ride it to Washington.
If that happens, and they win, she is positioned to run for president in 2028. If she is not picked to run with Trump, she can see if either Sens. John Thune or Mike Rounds plans to retire — or challenge one of them in a primary. As Noem showed in 2010, when older, more established Republicans were running for Congress, she won’t stand around and wait her turn.
There is a chance that Rep. Dusty Johnson, with deep roots in Pierre and who once was Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s chief of staff, might leave Congress and run for governor in 2026. That would open a door for Noem to return to Congress.
Of course, she might follow Palin’s lead and write books, appear on TV and become a conservative media star. Palin appeared on “Saturday Night Live” with her doppelgänger, Tina Fey, and on “Dancing With the Stars” when her daughter Bristol competed. She has embraced her role as a famous person, and will always have an audience.
It beats trying to get a bill passed in the cold of Alaska, and the pay is nice, too.
Noem isn’t at that point, and I doubt she ever gets there. She is too canny, too ambitious and too driven to accept a sideshow gig. Noem is taking aim at the top, and unlike Sarah Palin, she has a very real chance of getting there.
Underestimating Kristi Noem has been a fatal mistake for a lot of South Dakota politicians. In the last 14 years, she has gained a national following, and unlike Palin, her story is still being written.
Tom Lawrence has written for several newspapers and websites in South Dakota and other states and contributed to The New York Times, NPR, The Telegraph, The Daily Beast and other media outlets.
