I'd already read that Governor Kristi Noem was Back in Florida: Noem Says GOP Needs to Inspire Youth, Fight Classroom Propaganda at Dakota Free Press.
But now, via a tweet by Dakota New Now Austin Goss, she's distancing herself from former President Trump's bid for a return to the Oval Office.
At the New York Times, Reid J. Epstein, Lisa Lerer and Jonathan Weisman report in Key Allies Are Inching Away From Trump:
. . . At an annual gathering of Republican governors in Orlando, donors and lobbyists mingled with governors past, present and future while weighing ways to wrest Mr. Trump from the party’s base. Their main complaint was not over policy or even style, but losses the party has taken since Mr. Trump won the White House in 2016.
Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota, a Republican often mentioned as a potential 2024 candidate, said she did not believe Mr. Trump offered “the best chance” for the party in 2024.
“If we narrow our focus there, then we’re not talking to every single American,” Ms. Noem said in an interview as she sat across a mahogany table from her political adviser, Corey Lewandowski, who served as campaign manager for an early portion of Mr. Trump’s 2016 bid. “Our job is not just to talk to people who love Trump or hate Trump. Our job is to talk to every single American.” . . .
Three major party donors — Stephen Schwarzman, Ken Griffin and Ronald Lauder — said this week that they intended to back someone other than Mr. Trump or have no plans to support him this time. Mr. Trump’s daughter Ivanka said she would not be involved with his campaign, saying that she is “choosing to prioritize” her children. Groups like the conservative Club for Growth, once a staunch Trump ally, are circulating polling showing Mr. Trump trailing Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida by double digits.
Other potential contenders — including Ms. Noem, former Vice President Mike Pence and Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia — are reassessing their 2024 chances in the wake of the midterms. . . .
That's special in a couple of directions.
Just over a year ago in As South Dakota turns; or, more melodrama from Kristi and Jason in the stonefaces state, Bluestem posted:
Yesterday, at the Daily Beast, Zoe Richards reported in Kristi Noem Ditches Lewandowski After Two Bombshell Reports:
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has cut ties with Corey Lewandowski, a day after angrily dismissing claims that she was having an affair with the former Trump adviser, who had also been advising Noem.
A spokesman for the governor, Ian Fury, told Politico: “Corey was always a volunteer, never paid a dime (campaign or official). He will not be advising the Governor in regard to the campaign or official office.”
The statement, claiming Lewandowski had “always” been a “volunteer,” appeared to downplay the role he served in advising Noem.
On Tuesday, a conservative news outlet called American Greatness published a bombshell report alleging that “multiple” unidentified sources had confirmed Noem has been having a monthslong affair with Lewandowski, who was former President Donald Trump’s first campaign manager.
Noem blasted what she called “rumors,” while affirming her commitment to her husband.
“These rumors are total garbage and a disgusting lie,” Noem wrote on Twitter. “These old, tired attacks on conservative women are based on a falsehood that we can’t achieve anything without a man’s help. I love Bryon. I’m proud of the God-fearing family we’ve raised together. Now I’m getting back to work.”
Her tweet came on the same day Lewandowski was accused by a Trump donor of making unwanted sexual advances and stalking her at a Las Vegas charity over the weekend.
In a statement to Politico, Trashelle Odom alleged that Lewandowski had repeatedly touched her inappropriately on her legs and butt, while making lewd sexual comments that left her feeling “violated and fearful.”
Ah, but that's so last year. In late July, we posted in Positive pants on fire: Noem fibs about policy, keeps Corey Lewandowski at her side in DC:
The return of advisor Corey Lewandowski
While Heidelberger doesn't mention the presence of unsavory campaign advisor Corey Lewandowski at Noem's side in Washington, his name is on the DFP banner above.
David Smith was not so shy Friday in a Guardian article, Potential rival or running mate? Kristi Noem, the governor denying Trump a face on Mount Rushmore:
. . . Noem is widely seen as a potential rival – or running mate – for Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. This week she published a memoir, Not My First Rodeo: Lessons from the Heartland, and delivered speeches to the Heritage Foundation thinktank and National Conservative Student Conference in Washington.
At the latter event she was accompanied by former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, apparently working for her again after a brief hiatus, and she held an informal conversation with reporters where questions included the supreme court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade, the 1973 ruling that guaranteed a woman’s right to abortion. . .
The link goes to a Politico Playbook newsletter from May 26, which noted:
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK —NOEM REUNITES WITH LEWANDOWSKI: Daniel Lippman reports that South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has reestablished ties with former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski just months after severing them in the wake of accusations from a major GOP donor that Lewandowski had made unwanted sexual advances at a charity event. (Lewandowski has denied any wrongdoing.)
Three eyewitnesses spotted Noem and Lewandowski — along with several other people professionally associated with the strategist — on Wednesday morning at the Republican Governors Association meeting at the JW Marriott in downtown Nashville. One source told Daniel that Lewandowski was staffing or supporting Noem at the event. An aide to Lewandowski was seen fetching water for Noem at the hotel. He attended her panel at the RGA, according to a photo obtained by Playbook, and was also seen with her on a trip she made to California in April, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Lewandowski didn’t respond to a request for comment, and a spokesperson for Noem also didn't respond.
Prior to Noem cutting ties with Lewandowski last fall, he’d been a top adviser to the governor, who is widely seen as a potential 2024 candidate. In 2021, he traveled the country with Noem, introducing her to major Republican donors and power brokers. But after the sexual misconduct allegation last September, Noem spokesperson Ian Fury said that Lewandowski was “always a volunteer” and would “not be advising the governor in regard to the campaign or official office.”
The very next day, the Politico intell was picked up by Austin Goss at KEVN/Black Hills Fox in Governor Kristi Noem brings Corey Lewandowski back on:
In September, Governor Kristi Noem supposedly broke ties with controversial political advisor Corey Lewandowski. Lewandowski faced allegations that he sexually harassed a woman at a political event in Las Vegas, which Noem was present for.
Now, according to reporting by Politico, Lewandowski is back working with Noem. . . .
“He (Lewandowski) has resumed ties with Governor Noem, they were seen together at the Republican Governors Association meeting in Nashville this week,” said Politico reporter Daniel Lippman.
Lippman also reported that the two had been seen at a political function in California recently. Lippman’s sources told him that Lewandowski had been functioning in an advisor capacity to Noem at these political functions.
Beyond California and Tennessee, the two had been spotted together in a number of other states over the last several weeks, including Texas, Nebraska, and Washington.
“It is kind of interesting how they have resumed their ties, after Noem spokesperson Ian Fury said in late September they had cut ties because of the sexual misconduct allegation against Lewandowski in Las Vegas,” Lippman said.
It wasn’t the first time that Lewandowski had faced allegations of mistreating women. In 2016, the former Trump campaign manager briefly faced battery charges for yanking a journalist down at a Trump campaign event. That charge would eventually be dropped.
In 2017, Lewandowski was accused of touching a female Trump surrogate inappropriately.
Noem also vehemently denied allegations of an affair with Lewandowski last September.
Political analysts say Lewandowski, who remains close with many in former President Trump’s orbit, has helped open doors for Noem on the national stage.
“I think Lewandowski, by having been the campaign manager around the 2016 election, certainly knows the characters that are in Trump world,” said former University of South Dakota Political Science professor Michael Card. “I think that is likely what Governor Noem is trying to capitalize on by having him around.” . . .
Wonders never cease.
Bluestem will be so cynical as to speculate that while we believe Governor Noem is entirely loyal to her husband, her connections with advisors are pure business and pragmatic. As for her alignment with former President Trump, we South Dakotans should simply check our weathervanes and wind turbines to see which way the wind blows.
Photo: Photographic proof that Governor Noem does indeed care about South Dakota. Pictured here giving thewelcoming address at the 2021 Governor's Ag Summit. Erin Bormett/Argus Leader.
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