Mugging: South Dakota governor's race is close enough for masked Noem image to appear

 

We swiped the image at the top of this post from Kristi Noem Mug Shot: Who Is That Masked Woman? at Dakota Free Press.

It pairs well with an article on the front page of the Argus Leader's digital site: Less than a month from Election Day and governor's race is close.

Annie Todd reports:

There is less than a month before Election Day, and while Gov. Kristi Noem may seem like the front runner, Rep. Jamie Smith is right behind her.

A SDSU Poll released Tuesday found Noem led the race by 45% while Smith trailed at 41%. David WIltse, the director of the SDUS Poll, housed in the School of American and Global Studies at the university in Brookings, said it was a tight race.

But poll numbers are only a small part of the picture and give a snapshot of the moment. With only weeks to go, the candidates are amping up their appearances and attack ads. . . .

Given the dry conditions across the state, perhaps that's a bandana over Noem's face on the mug. Or Smith is kicking up some dust.

It's certainly a step up. We're reminded of an image in a November 2020 post, After three months of wearing positive pants, how are South Dakotans doing in the pandemic?, in which Noem broke ranks with her fellow Republican office holders at a ceremony in Aberdeen marking the expansion of N95 masks at the local 3M plant,

We wrote then:

Indeed, the irony writes itself in a Friday story and photo (top of this post) in the Aberdeen News story, Expansion will more than double 3M mask production in Aberdeen  At the Argus Leader there's 3M expands production of N95 masks, adds two buildings at Aberdeen location:

3M announced Friday that two new production lines installed at its Aberdeen factory soon will increase production of N95 respirator masks due to high demand amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The 3M facility will be adding 120,000 square feet to expand production of N95 masks, thank to grants issued by U.S. Department of Defense contracts to further expand its U.S. production of N95 respirators.

3M produced about 22 million masks a month in the United States in 2019. Due to increased demand from the pandemic and the Aberdeen expansion, that number will increase to nearly 95 million per month by the end of 2020.

Two buildings have been constructed and one production line is already running.

3M anticipates as many as 100 new jobs will be created from the expansion, in addition to the 200 jobs that were added since January.

Gov. Kristi Noem, who attended the announcement of the expansion Friday with South Dakota's congressional delegation, said the increased production of N95 masks and local job growth has helped boost the economy. . . .

The striking photo of the maskless Noem at a mask manufacturing facility expansion ceremony recently resurfaced in Stu Whitney's SPECIAL REPORT: How Kristi Noem rode shifting political winds to Pierre — and possibly back to D.C. for South Dakota News Watch.

It's hard to tell where and what Noem's riding, but given the fodder available, her mount will never starve.

Related posts

• Cato Institute gives Noem a "C" on Fiscal Policy Report Card; cites opposition to sales tax cut
• A tale of two states, two sales taxes: Jensen and Noem share very different campaign promises
• Special Report: How Kristi Noem rode shifting political winds to Pierre — & possibly back to D.C
• Positive pants on fire: Democratic opponent Jamie Smith corrects Noem's really bad math
• After swift recovery from spinal surgery, Noem heads out for bright lights, big bucks in AZ & FL 
• Positive pants on fire: Noem fibs about policy, keeps Corey Lewandowski at her side in DC
• What the hell was that? Governor Kristi Noem butt of Saturday Night Live cold opening schtick
• Jamie Smith will focus on South Dakota and shake hands with your dog while he's at it

Images: Noem campaign swag for donors, designed by Amanda Radke, retrieved from Noem FB campaign post, 2022.10.13, at Dakota Free Press (above); Gov. Kristi Noem; and the South congressional delegation at the event. American News photo by John Davis. (below)

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