Almost 40 percent of South Dakotans say Kristi Noem shooting dog was justified 

Nearly 40% of South Dakotans say Republican Gov. Kristi Noem’s (R) shooting of her dog was justified after the governor received backlash for sharing the story in her new memoir, according to a new poll. I answered that it was.

According to a poll released and co-sponsored by Mason Dixon Polling & Strategy, about 38% of South Dakotans said the shooting of the 14-month-old hound was justified, while about 58% said it was. The answer was that it was not justified. South Dakota News Watch.

Noem, who was floated as former President Donald Trump’s running mate, came under fire for excerpts from his new memoir, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward.” Many years ago she shot her beloved dog Cricket.

The governor of South Dakota announced that he shot and killed a German wirehaired pointer on his property while pheasant hunting. Noem said she “hated” the dog and blamed it for attacking her neighbor’s chickens and trying to bite her. She also wrote about shooting a “mean and spiteful” male goat that liked to sniff her scent and chase children, shortly after killing her dog.

Opinion polls show Mount Rushmore residents have differing opinions about the shootings based on political affiliation.

Nearly 90% of Democrats surveyed said the shooting was unjustified, as did 22% of Republicans. More than half of Republicans surveyed (about 58%) said that was justified, while nearly 11% of Democrats thought the same.

A majority of independents surveyed (nearly 61%) said the shooting was unjustified, and nearly 26% said it was justified.

Among male residents, opinions on this issue are sharply divided, with about 45% saying it is legitimate, 50% saying it is not legitimate, and about 5% saying they are undecided.

The survey found that 65% of women don’t think it’s justified, and nearly 32% think it’s justified.

“It’s probably not surprising that women were more critical of shooting their dog, but half of the men thought the same thing,” said Michael Card, professor emeritus of political science at the University of South Dakota. told the news. clock. “The governor has a lot of room to grow in terms of repairing his image.”

Noem came under fire earlier this month from several Democratic governors and conservatives. Convicted her of murdering her pet. She defended her actions, saying that this incident and her willingness to share it is proof that she is genuine and her ability to make difficult choices.

The poll was conducted May 10-13 among 500 registered voters in South Dakota and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.