SD Democratic Party responds to Noem Inauguration

Saturday, Kristi Noem was sworn in as South Dakota’s 33rd governor. South Dakota Democratic Party Executive Director Sam Parkinson released the following statement in response:

“On behalf of the South Dakota Democratic Party, I would like to thank outgoing Governor Dennis Daugaard for his many years of public service and congratulate Governor Noem on her inauguration. I hope that the inauguration of South Dakota’s first female governor will show the young women growing up in South Dakota that they, too, can grow up to be elected to the highest office in our state.

“Now that she has taken office, Governor Noem has a responsibility to recognize she wasn’t elected with a big mandate and needs to reach out to the half of South Dakota that didn’t vote for her. If she does, there are many things we can do together to make life better for the working people of our state, such as investing in early childhood education, ending the sales tax on food, granting paid sick and family leave to employees of large corporations, and expanding Medicaid – which would be good for the health of our people, our state budget, and our state economy.

“Though we had many policy differences with Governor Daugaard, Democrats were pleased to work with him on several important issues that made life better for average South Dakotans. In the same way, we stand ready and willing to work with Governor Noem where we can to make South Dakota an even better place to live. However, we will stand up to her when we need to, and we will hold her, and the Republican majority, accountable when they try to rig our state economy and state government in favor the wealthy and well-connected, and when they fail to live up to the common values we hold as South Dakotans: fairness, honesty, and integrity.”