PIERRE, S.D. (SOUTH DAKOTA SEARCHLIGHT) – South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s fame has powered a national workforce recruitment campaign, but some think her newfound infamy might doom it.
However, the state office managing the campaign says it will not change course.
The future of Noem’s starring role in South Dakota’s $9 million Freedom Works Here ad campaign is triggering debate after she disclosed in a forthcoming book that she shot and killed her young dog named Cricket years ago. She wrote that the dog disrupted a hunting trip and displayed aggressive behavior, including killing chickens.
The incident has attracted a torrent of negative attention from both sides of the political spectrum, leading some to question the suitability of Noem’s role as the face of a state effort to attract new workers.
South Dakota Democrats are having a field day. Drey Samuelson, who worked as Democratic former U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson’s chief of staff for many years, explained that people don’t have to know anything about politics to have a strong opinion on a governor killing her dog. “She’s become a laughingstock. Even Fox News is laughing at her.”
Yet the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, Which manages the Freedom Works Here campaign, is holding firm. Spokesperson Sarah Abeling said Governor Noem and her commitment to the state have propelled this campaign forward at an unprecedented level, and there have been no plans to make any changes to Freedom Works Here.
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