Home state voters want nothing to do with fired DHS head Kristi Noem: poll

Any hope that fired Department of Homeland Security head Kristi Noem might have had about running for office once again in her home state of South Dakota likely died a quiet death on Friday after new polling showed voters want no part of her anymore.

According to a KELOLAND Media Group/Emerson College poll, 67 percent of surveyed voters — 586 respondents — said they would oppose Noem running for office in South Dakota again. Only 22 percent said they would support her candidacy, while 11 percent remained unsure.

According to the KELO report, the rejection represents a stunning reversal for Noem, who won the South Dakota governorship in 2022 with 62 percent of the vote. The former congresswoman and governor had long harbored national political ambitions, at one point lobbying Trump to make her his 2024 running mate.

Those national aspirations appear to have been permanently damaged by her tenure as DHS secretary, during which she became one of the Trump administration's most reviled and ridiculed cabinet members.

The Emerson College poll surveyed 875 South Dakota voters, including approximately 450 Republicans, 221 independents, and 201 Democrats. The results show consistent opposition to Noem across party lines.

The same poll showed 52 percent approval for President Trump in South Dakota and 38 percent disapproval of current Gov. Larry Rhoden — suggesting Noem's unpopularity is not reflective of broader state Republican sentiment but rather specific to her damaged political brand.