Rep. Kristi Noem's electoral stock may be ticking up, just
slightly.  Joshua Shields is stepping down as Noem's spokesman
to go work for Black Hills Corporation. He was never very good
at the jobÂ (see also here)... but then again, Noem doesn't give
great material to work with.  His temporary replacement, Noem
staffer Jordan Stoick, makes this clever observation:  Stoick
saidÂ NoemÂ wants tea party support but resists efforts to label
her a tea party candidate, although the South Dakota Democrats
are working hard to do just that.  He said it may be an
advantage for Strong to run to the right of Noem. Stoick said
that helps place her closer to the middle of the Republican
spectrum [Tom Lawrence, "The Smart Young Guys Behind the
Political Scenes," Republic Insider, 2012.02.22].  Dang: maybe I
shouldn't be so excited about the purported primary challenges
Noem faces. Stephanie Strong, with her all-caps shouting of
vague Tea Party tropes (oh, but she does want to repeal the
Patriot Act!) and links to Wall Builder