Noem and Walz have similar backgrounds but very different approaches to politics and government

I knew South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem before she was a member of Congress or governor.

I knew Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (seen above in a public domain image posted on wikimedia commons) before he was a member of Congress or governor.

Their actions in office are not at all surprising. They have been just like they were before they reached high office, and their decisions, statements and principles have been very consistent.

Noem is from Hamlin County, while I grew up in adjacent Deuel County. She graduated from Hamlin High School in 1990; I am a 1976 graduate of Estelline High School — our family farms were about a half-hour apart.

I knew quite a few Noems growing up but not the Arnold clan that she came from before marrying her low-profile husband Bryon. I had never heard of her before she ran for the Republican nomination for South Dakota’s lone congressional seat in 2010.

Noem was in her second term as a state representative when she defeated better-known Republicans such as Secretary of State Chris Nelson and state Rep. Blake Curd for the nomination. She would take on U.S. Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, who had breezed to re-election in 2006 and 2008 amidst talk she was a potential senator, governor or even president someday.

The day after the primary, Noem stopped at The Mitchell Daily Republic. I was the assistant editor and wrote most of the political stories. Noem was asked if she felt she was the underdog against the apparently popular incumbent.

“I can win,” she replied, and that was the top headline on Page 1 the next day. Noem was confident, even brash. She enjoyed the spotlight and wasn’t going to shy away from a fight.

It was the first time two women were facing off for a top political job in the state. Noem and Herseth Sandlin were both young, well-spoken and attractive, with clear policy differences. But they were not as stark as you might think, since Herseth Sandlin was a moderate Democrat who had irritated liberals with some votes, including opposing Obamacare, saying it “wasn’t right for South Dakota.”

There were threats of a primary challenge and it was clear the left wing in the South Dakota Democratic Party was not motivated to support her.

Noem was not the far-right firebrand she has evolved into in recent years. She positioned herself as a conservative, but also as a small-town business owner who had worked well with other legislators in Pierre. Noem was elected to the Legislature's Executive Board, a bipartisan entity that handles legislative matters between sessions, in her first term, and was named assistant House majority leader in her second term.

Herseth Sandlin came from a family of South Dakota politicians — her grandfather Ralph was a rare beast, a Democratic governor — and she appeared to have a bright future. Instead, after her loss to Noem, she never ran again and has repeatedly said her political career is over. She is now president of Augustana University in Sioux Falls.

Noem’s first bid for a statewide office was impressive, as she raised more money than Herseth Sandlin down the stretch and proved to be a feisty and strong-willed debater and candidate. She was good with voters and the media. I interviewed her numerous times when she was in Congress.

Those days are over, now. Noem has followed Trump’s lead in alternately attacking and ignoring reporters.

Noem won three more terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, was elected governor in 2018 and re-elected in 2022. She has become a bit of a national figure, sharing stages with former President Donald Trump several times while hoping for a chance to run for president or vice president, most recently when she endorsed him at a rally in Rapid City on Sept. 8.

Noem is popular with South Dakota voters, with just two close races, defeating Herseth Sandlin in 2010 and edging Billie Sutton for governor in 2018. Her other campaigns ended in landslide wins.

What does the future hold for her? She cannot seek a third consecutive term as governor. Will she challenge either of our incumbent Republican senators, John Thune or Mike Rounds? Will she and Rep. Dusty Johnson swap jobs in 2026?

Will she wind up as Trump’s running mate in 2024? Seek the White House in 2028? Maybe she will land a spot on Fox News or some other conservative media outlet.

I doubt she will return to Castlewood to run a business. How ya gonna keep them down on the farm once they’ve seen the bright lights of the big time?

I met Walz in 2003 when I was an editor at The Mankato Free Press in Minnesota.

He was a social studies teacher at Mankato West High School who also coached football. Walz served 24 years in the Army National Guard and was a well-known local figure.

Our paths first crossed at the newspaper office when Walz came to see us to express his outrage over how one of his students had been treated at a rally held for President George W. Bush.

It was Aug. 4, 2004, and Bush was in a tight race with Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic candidate. Traditionally liberal Minnesota was seen as a potential win for Bush, so he spoke at a stone quarry on the edge of Mankato, drawing a huge crowd.

Walz was with a pair of students, and they were thoroughly searched. One kid had a liberal sticker or something deemed objectionable in his wallet and was told he would not be allowed to enter. Both students left.

Walz stayed to listen, and he grew madder by the minute thinking about what had happened. A plan formed in his mind.

I spent time with him at a LGBQT event in Mankato I was covering in the summer of 2004. I just ran into him as he was strolling around, and we walked and talked for a half hour or so.

Walz came across in person as smart, ambitious and aware of the challenges he faced. He is chunky, balding and not a charismatic figure, but he is honest, funny and open. I walked away thinking he had a future in politics.

Walz challenged Minnesota 1st District Republican incumbent Gil Gutknecht in 2006 and knocked off the six-term incumbent, who had vowed to retire after 12 years in Congress. Gutknecht changed his mind — what a shock! — but voters remembered and sent him into retirement.

On Election Night, Walz vowed to work for all people in his district, the state and nation.

“We have an opportunity now to lead this country in the direction it needs to go, leaving behind the divisive partisan politics,” he said. “We need to start seeing our neighbors not as Democratic neighbors, Republican neighbors. They’re our neighbors, they’re Americans. This country can do better. We start tomorrow.”

Walz ended up serving six terms in Congress, being in the House with Noem for her entire eight years there. Both were elected governor in 2018, and won second terms in 2022.

While South Dakota and Minnesota are neighbors, their politics have long been far apart. We have always been very Republican, and now have become one of the reddest states in the nation.

Minnesota has leaned Democratic for most of the last half century, led by the success and influence of South Dakota native Hubert Humphrey, who moved to Minnesota as a young man. He became mayor of Minneapolis, served five terms as a United States senator in two stretches, was vice president from 1965-68 and ran for president in 1960, 1968 and 1972.

Noem has turned to the right as governor, perhaps in an attempt to win favor with the Trump mob that now dominates the GOP. She has repeatedly clashed with fellow Republicans as well — Kristi enjoys a fight, and that is not accidental. Her close advisor Corey Lewandowski, whose controversial reputation and often sordid personal life has caused her some headache, urges her to make noise and grab headlines with clashes with other politicians.

Walz was known as a congressman who worked well with Republicans. As governor, he has leaned a bit more to the left, while also retaining his populist nature and displaying an ability to work with Republicans in St. Paul on issues like providing enough nursing homes for Minnesotans.

Gov. Noem could take a lesson there.

At the same time, however, he has stood by his basic beliefs, including supporting a woman’s right to choose for herself, as he posted on X on Thursday, Dec. 14.

“Minnesota will continue to be a beacon of reproductive freedom,” Walz wrote. “I stand ready to ensure Minnesotans can get the care they need, and I will continue to deliver on my promise to protect your rights — not take them away.”

Noem, of course, has taken the exact opposite position.

Walz also has been willing to take a few shots at his conservative neighbors — Noem and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds.

In a Dec. 7 interview on CNN, he contrasted how Minnesota, South Dakota and Iowa operate.

“I’m surrounded by states who are spending their time figuring out how to ban ‘Charlotte’s Web’ in their schools while we’re banishing hunger from ours with free breakfast and lunch,” Walz said.

He amplified it on X: “We’re not banning books; we’re banishing hunger. It’s that simple.

On Dec. 11, Walz said he also wanted to make sure people in his cold-weather state stay safe and warm in the winter.

“As we continue working to lower costs and make life easier for Minnesotans, I’m proud our Energy Assistance Program can provide families with up to $1,400 — helping renters and homeowners afford their utility bills,” he posted on X.

Contrast that with Noem turning down a chance to obtain $7.5 million to help feed hungry kids during the summer, according to a South Dakota News Watch report. The Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer would have helped an estimated 63,000 South Dakota children receive healthy food during summer 2023 — at a time when estimates were 25,000 kids did not have access to healthy food.

Now, her administration is seeking donors to help fund a summer food program. It’s the latest example of missteps and politically motivated actions by Noem, who puts her future ahead of hungry kids if it means pleasing the far-right crowd.

So, yes, I knew Walz and Noem before they got where they are now. They are acting pretty much as I would have expected, too.

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.