According to two sources familiar with the preparations, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is likely endorsing former President Donald Trump in her home state on Friday during a campaign rally involving both of them.
Should Trump receive her support, it would feed rumors that Trump would choose her as his vice president in the future if he wins the Republican nominee in 2024.
During the COVID-19 epidemic, Noem, who was re-elected in 2022, shot to national prominence when she refrained from enforcing statewide mask regulations or forcing businesses to close, instead leaving counties and localities the authority to do so.
Since then, she has started a national recruitment drive to find workers for thousands of open positions in the state. She has done this by appearing in commercials as professionals like plumbers, dentists, and electricians to highlight the state’s acceptance of most out-of-state occupational licenses, apprenticeship programs, and lack of a state income tax.
Since she started the effort in June, according to her office, more than 6,000 people have sought to relocate to the state.
According to a person with knowledge of the situation, Noem’s anticipated endorsement was “an incredibly smart decision,” elevating her to the shortlist of probable vice presidential candidates.
If Trump chooses Noem to be his vice president, Noem said last month on Fox News that she would “consider it.”
“I think everybody should consider it,” she told Sean Hannity. “If President Trump is going to be back in the White House, I do all I can to help him be successful.”
Other candidates for Trump’s vice presidency, according to observers, include Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and former TV news anchor and Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake.
Trump has indicated he doesn’t anticipate selecting a running mate early despite the talk around the so-called “veepstakes,” despite the legal concerns he confronts with the 91 felony counts across four criminal cases he is charged in.
He has entered a not-guilty plea and says he did nothing wrong.
“No, I don’t think so. I think I’ll go through the process,” Trump said to radio host Hugh Hewitt on Wednesday.
“There’s never been a vice president that got a president elected, because it doesn’t work that way. It sounds good and everything,” he said, “but the president gets himself elected.”
