Is South Dakota Gov. Noem the ‘Best Bet’ for Republicans in 2024?

We're only two weeks removed from the 2020 presidential election and while plenty of people are still trying to come to grips with the outcome, some have already moved on to the next battle for the White House in 2024.

The political pundits have already been churning out shortlists of potential candidates for the ballot in four years and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem's name is getting a lot of traction.

In an opinion piece on The Hill, titled 'Republicans Need a Good Woman for 2024', contributor L.S. Dugale even goes as far as calling the first-term South Dakota governor the Republicans' 'best bet' in 2024:

'She has populist appeal, leadership experience as South Dakota’s first female governor and she’s been willing to break with the Trump administration on trade wars.'

Certainly, Noem's actions over the past few months of the 2020 presidential campaign seem to indicate that she has higher aspirations politically than just the Capitol Building in Pierre.

She has been one of President Trump's highest-profile campaigners since participating in the Republican National Convention over the summer.

sparring with former President Obama about comments he made in his memoir 'A Promised Land'.

One area that could be a liability for Noem on the national stage is her handling of COVID-19 in South Dakota.

The Governor was initially one of several Republicans that refused to institute mask mandates, opting instead to let individual citizens make their own decisions on how to deal with the pandemic and the potential spread of germs.

But Noem's stance is increasingly being criticized as the Mount Rushmore State continues to have some of the highest infection rates per capita in the country.

And in just the past few days two of the governor's allies on relaxed COVID restrictions have changed course with North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, both Republicans, enacting mask mandates in their states.

Noem is no stranger to national politics. She served four terms as South Dakota's Representative in the U.S. House from 2011 to 2019.