Idle Speculation: Noem for Governor? Nah, Try House!

A commenter goes off topic:

you have compared Kristi Noem to Alaska governor Sarah Palin, but do you think Noem could be the next governor of South Dakota ?

Not if Noem doesn't fire up that blog again! ;-) (And when did I compare Noem to Palin? You could be thinking of someone with a smaller beard....)

I don't think that's the Assistant Majority Leader's girls doing some comment-spam-trial-ballooning for Mom. Maybe someone from the rodeo lobby or the Second Amendment Sisters is trying to stir the pot. So I'll bite:

Noem would certainly make interesting counterprogramming to Herseth Sandlin, should the Dems have the pleasure of fielding the biggest name available for the 2010 contest. Noem brings Mom-cred and country-cred—not that either is a prereq for good government, but both make for great television campaigning. Of course, that would deny some of her base one of their favorite arguments, that women ought to stay home and focus on their family. (Maybe that's a good reason for Noem to run for the big ticket!)

But let's be realistic: Noem hasn't made any gubernatorial noise, and the field is already noisy enough. The party faithful are putting lots of chips on Lt. Gov. Dennis Daugaard. Brookings Mayor Scott Munsterman is making a push (by the way, he agrees with me that we need to take a look at small-scale wind energy) to boost his statewide recognition. Ken Knuppe may be all hat and mustache, but what a mustache! And Dave Knudson is there to suck up the Sioux Falls Chamber/technocrat vote.

(Plus, Noem supports requiring insurers to pay for contraception. The party faithful would never let her be governor... would they? ;-) )

If Noem were looking to run against the machines already in motion, she'd be doing a little more to boost her name recognition (like maybe filibustering against yesterday's motion to recess and demanding the Legislature remain in session rather than running scared from a little snow). Instead, she seems more interested in just doing her job. If she's smart (and she is) and really wants a promotion, she'll let the fellas wrassle over Pierre and throw her hat in the ring for the U.S. House seat. The last time the GOP came close in the U.S. House race was with an experienced East River legislator. Even against Herseth Sandlin, Noem could put up a better fight than the last two placeholders.