Qualifications:  Rep. Governor of South Dakota since 2019; Lt. Colonel, US Air Force Civil Air Patrol. Also a farmer and rancher.

Disqualifications:  She is a devoted Christian nationalist who promotes mandatory school prayer and signed a religious refusal bill in 2021 to allow discrimination against LGBTQIA+ people in South Dakota. Noem refused to support a mandatory statewide Covid-19 mask mandate. 

Views: Strongly pro-gun, anti-abortion. Ardent anti-immigration positions, backed Trump 1.0 Muslim ban. She was notoriously banned from visiting three Native American reservations after she falsely accused Mexican cartels of ‘successfully’ recruiting tribal members who she said benefited from the cartels. Also notorious for publicly writing about shooting her 14-month-old family dog at close range out of anger, and the pet family goat.