Is Kristi Noem Already Attacking Ron DeSantis in a Preview of 2024 Republican Nomination Race?

As of right now, the GOP is acting as if Donald Trump is the clear 2024 presidential candidate for the party. Things, however, may not be anything near that simple.

Trump is not only and older man with potential health difficulties, there are also plenty of legal challenges for him ahead. And while he is desperate to stay at the head of the party, other prominent Republicans are smelling blood in the water.

Ron DeSantis is clearly the party’s rising star. And South Dakota’s Kristi Noem may also have a big future. During this weekend’s CPAC conference, Noem seemingly took a shot at the Florida governor.

The South Dakota governor told attendees, “Let’s talk about rewriting history. We’ve got Republican Governors across the country pretending they didn’t shut down their states … that they didn’t close their beaches.”

Noem will have plenty of work to do to catch up with DeSantis. A straw poll conducted at a recent GOP event in Colorado showed DeSantis leading Trump as the preferred 2024 candidate.

The CPAC event in Texas showed much different results with Trump clearly leading all other candidates. DeSantis, though, was clearly the second most popular candidate behind Trump. And with all the obstacles to Trump running in 2024, it almost makes DeSantis a favorite.

Noem’s strategy is interesting. The fact that she would criticize a competitor for doing things to combat the spread of COVID shows exactly where the party is right now.