South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (Republican) said it would be “in my interest” for former President Trump to choose a woman as his running mate.
“The polling that I’ve seen of him and in a lot of battleground states, having a woman helping him campaign would make a difference, so I think that would be beneficial,” she said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” when asked whether Trump should choose a woman as his vice president.
“Every poll shows that having women on the shortlist in battleground states will help Trump win,” Noem, Trump’s running mate, told co-host Dana Bash.
“One in four Republican women are still undecided because they want women to talk to them about the issues they care about. And women are not a monolith. They don’t just care about one issue,” she said.
“Women care about health care, they care about their children, they care about their future, they care about having the opportunity to have businesses and careers. And all of that is under threat from Joe Biden, but certainly women’s votes are crucial,” she added.
Trump has not yet chosen a running mate, but sources confirmed to The Hill that he has sent vetting materials to several potential running mates, including North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum (R-North Dakota), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Sen. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio).
ABC News report Materials were also sent to Reps. Byron Donald (R-Fla.), Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Ben Carson, but it is unclear how much they received.
When pressed by Bash, Noem declined to say whether she knew whether she was still under consideration as Trump’s running mate.
“I have told President Trump many times that he should choose someone who will help him win, and I have been loyal to him since the beginning of my presidential campaign in 2016,” she said.
“He told me his number one priority was to select a running mate who could govern from day one, who was loyal to him, who had experience, who ran a business, knew how to be a CEO and supported his policies. I don’t care. I love my job in South Dakota. All I care about is that I want him to win and that he knows I do,” she added.
