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Argus Leader: Noem dominates
Rep. Kristi Noem fought off a spirited challenge from Democrat Matt Varilek to earn a second term in Congress on Tuesday.
Noem, who narrowly unseated incumbent Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin two years ago, won a convincing 58 percent of the vote after an aggressive re-election campaign.
“I want each and every South Dakotan out there to know that I will continue to represent you with the same passion and commitment I have the past two years,” Noem said.
In her victory speech, Noem promised to pursue major reform during the next two years. She vowed to try to repeal the estate tax, reform the income tax, cut spending and regulation and, first and foremost, pass a farm bill.
“It’s essential for our economy, for our national security and for our food supply,” Noem said of the farm bill, which stalled in the House amid partisan bickering over the summer.
Varilek, who kept Noem on her toes with attacks on her committee attendance, her positions on taxes and Medicare and the stalled farm bill, said he was disappointed in his loss.
“But I walk out of the room tonight with my head held high,” he said. “I ran a good race, I talked about the issues I care about and that South Dakotans care about. Even though we came up short, I hold firm to those beliefs.”
The campaign often was acrimonious, with both candidates criticizing the other in negative ads. But in her victory speech, Noem took a conciliatory tone.
“I know that not everyone in South Dakota voted for me tonight,” Noem said. “While maybe you didn’t vote for me, I still represent you, and I still want to hear from you and visit with you and hear what your concerns are, and work for you every single day, so you feel as though you’re represented the best I possibly can.”
Many times during the campaign, Noem cast herself as much an opponent of President Obama and other national liberals as Varilek, a former aide to Sen. Tim Johnson.
“I’ve only been in Washington, D.C., for two years, and I can tell you it really is a wreck,” Noem said. “I’ve already brought some South Dakota common sense to that city, but I can’t wait to get back there and show them how South Dakota gets things done.”
Noem said she was “humbled” that many South Dakotans who didn’t support her two years ago voted for her Tuesday.
“Hopefully, they saw some of the initiatives I worked on in Washington, D.C., and saw that it was good for South Dakota,” Noem said. “I think they recognized I don’t just talk about issues, but I’m actually willing to vote and follow through on them.”
Noem won across the state, beating Varilek in more than 50 of South Dakota’s 66 counties. In Minnehaha County, Noem narrowly edged Varilek, 51.3 percent to 48.7 percent. Her performance in Lincoln County was close to her statewide total, a 60-40 win.
The victory was built on several key factors — a big fundraising advantage, a favorable political environment from a Republican-leaning South Dakota electorate and a vigorous, disciplined campaign.
She also credited her friends and family for keeping her going during the campaign.
In her victory speech, Noem told a story of spending some time with her son Booker, 10, when she got an email about an attack against her. Booker, who has starred in several TV commercials for Noem in the past two years, got defensive about his mom.
“Give me one more commercial and I’ll set ’em straight,” Noem quoted her son saying.
Now she’s headed back to Washington, D.C., for a lame-duck session with big issues, including expiring tax cuts and major impending spending reductions.
Meanwhile, Varilek doesn’t know what’s next for him.
“I haven’t given it much thought, I must admit,” Varilek said.
He quit his job with Johnson to run for Congress. Now he said he’s going to spend a few days thanking supporters and deciding his next move.
Noem said she’s got “a lot of work to do.”
“I’m not going to stop fighting to make sure that America is better for every single South Dakotan and every single American,” Noem said.”
2012-11-07 16:28:10
Source: http://www.kristiforcongress.com/news/post/argus-leader-noem-dominates/
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