The stunningly attractive Republican South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is considering a presidential run. She has scheduled a visit to Iowa and a conservative group recently headlined her in a virtual event in New Hampshire.

Noem is up for reelection in 2022 and will cruise to a win. Then she has several options. She can run a real race and go for the gusto. She can run a race for veep as Harris did. She can run a race for a Cabinet slot as Ben Carson and Pete Buttigieg did. A real race could run into Trump, DeSantis, or Cruz. But the two other options would work well for her. She’d be a great veep for anybody. Though she’d be wasted in only a Cabinet position.

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Ideologically she is a pro-Trump conservative. But her personal charisma and looks would make her acceptable to anti-Trumpers and indeed to the public at large. As such, you will see the Democrats start to target her. It’ll be the usual litany of false indictments the Left throws out and the press runs with. Some on the hard right could target her too over a controversial transgender sports bill she opposed in South Dakota. If she runs against Trump then you can guess what the former president will say about her. However, trashing her is not the same thing as going after a lame straggler like Jeb Bush. It could backfire, especially with female voters.

FNC: “South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s repeatedly said she’s not interested in running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. But two developments this past week are sparking further speculation that the first term conservative governor and strong supporter of former President Trump – whom political pundits consider a potential contender – likely has national ambitions in the next race for the White House. The influential Iowa based social conservative group The FAMiLY Leader on Wednesday announced that Noem will headline their 10th annual Leadership Summit on July 16th in Des Moines. Hours before the Iowa announcement, Noem was the featured virtual guest during the latest gathering of the ‘Right of Center’ group of New Hampshire conservative activists and leaders, which was first reported by Fox News. The governor’s been visible at early cattle calls for potential 2024 GOP White House hopefuls, such as January’s Republican National Committee winter meeting and the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in February, which were both held in Florida. Noem came in second to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the CPAC straw poll on the 2024 GOP presidential nomination if Trump doesn’t run.”

“We are grateful to once again welcome nationally prominent voices and leaders to Iowa for the FAMiLY Leadership Summit,” said the group’s president and CEO, Bob Vander Plaats. It won’t be the last Iowa event she attends.