South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to back, campaign with Diehl in his GOP gubernatorial bid – The Boston Globe

Kristi Noem, the South Dakota governor who’s broadly thought-about a possible 2024 presidential candidate, will stump for Republican gubernatorial candidate Geoff Diehl subsequent month, bringing a serious GOP determine into what’s been a reasonably quiet main.

Diehl’s marketing campaign stated Tuesday that Noem is predicted to marketing campaign with the previous lawmaker on Aug. 10, in addition to attend a fundraiser for Diehl on the house of automotive magnate Ernie Boch Jr.

The announcement comes simply days after Diehl’s main opponent, Chris Doughty, stated he would host one other out-of-state governor, New Hampshire’s Chris Sununu, at his personal August fundraiser in Peabody.

In a press release launched by Diehl’s marketing campaign, Noem referred to as the Donald Trump-backed conservative an “thrilling candidate.”

“He gives a singular mix of conservative credentials, trusted legislative expertise, and sensible work within the non-public sector,” Noem stated.

Noem has minimize a profile as a rising conservative star within the Republican occasion. CNN as soon as described her because the “feminine Trump,” and whereas she has stated she would assist Trump if he had been to run for president in 2024, she’s seen as a possible candidate herself.

In a press release, Diehl stated he particularly “admired her management in the course of the pandemic.” Noem was a vocal opponent of shutdowns and mandates, and final 12 months criticized different Republican governors who she stated had been “pretending they didn’t shut down their states, that they didn’t shut their areas, that they didn’t mandate masks.”

Diehl has criticized proof of vaccination measures in Boston, and has campaigned on a promise to rehire anybody who was fired for refusing to adjust to Governor Charlie Baker’s mandate that tens of 1000’s of state workers be vaccinated towards COVID-19.

Noem “was one of many few leaders in our nation to maintain her individuals protected and maintain her state open for enterprise,” Diehl stated.

A Suffolk College/Boston Globe ballot in April discovered that 75 p.c of residents stated they accredited of the way in which Baker was dealing with the pandemic. Baker, a second-term Republican, shouldn’t be operating for reelection.

Noem and Diehl have a shared connection by longtime Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski, who’s now advising Diehl’s gubernatorial marketing campaign. Lewandowski had labored to lift Noem’s profile inside conservative circles earlier than she severed ties with him final fall after a donor alleged that he made undesirable sexual advances at a Las Vegas fundraiser in September. (Lewandowski denied any wrongdoing.)

Politico reported in Could that Noem and Lewandowski had since reunited.

The announcement that Noem was visiting Massachusetts instantly drew criticism from the state Democratic Get together. Noem has beforehand stated she opposes any exception to an abortion ban in her state, together with in circumstances of rape or incest.

“By campaigning with Governor Kristi Noem . . . Geoff Diehl is demonstrating but once more that he would roll again reproductive rights in Massachusetts,” stated Gus Bickford, the state Democratic Get together chairman.

Diehl has stated he believes in “the necessity to defend human life wherever and each time attainable,” and has criticized the state Legislature’s previous efforts to broaden abortion rights, together with permitting for abortions after 24 weeks in circumstances with a deadly fetal anomaly, as a “radical transfer.”

Samantha J. Gross and Emma Platoff of the Globe employees contributed to this report.

Matt Stout could be reached at matt.stout@globe.com. Observe him on Twitter @mattpstout.