Editor's note: If you cite the results of this poll, credit South Dakota News Watch and the Chiesman Center for Democracy, per copyright law and our republishing policy.
PIERRE, S.D. – Roughly 3 in 4 South Dakotans approve of President Donald Trump's decision to sack former Gov. Kristi Noem from her role as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, according to a new poll sponsored by South Dakota News Watch and the Chiesman Center for Democracy at the University of South Dakota.
The survey of 500 registered voters across party affiliation conducted April 7-9 by Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy, found 76% of respondents agreed with Trump's move, while 59% of South Dakotans disapproved of her performance as head of the DHS. The margin of error is plus-or-minus 4.5%.
Noem, who is from the Castlewood/Watertown area, received criticism earlier this year for her handling of protests that broke out against the operations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during which two Minnesotans were killed. Questions were also raised over DHS contracts that were awarded to individuals connected to her and senior aide Corey Lewandowski.
Brad Coker, founder of Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy, ranked as one of the least-biased and most-factual pollsters, also pointed out that support for Noem was dropping prior to her role at DHS, citing revelations in her 2024 memoir that she shot and killed her dog because, as she put it, it was "untrainable."
"I think she was already starting to slip. Trump gave her a lifeline, and she wasn't able to hold on to the lifeline," Coker said. "Republicans have dogs too. It wasn't something that just offended the left."
Julia Hellwege, director of the Chiesman Center and USD associate professor in political science, was not surprised by Noem's approval numbers given, in addition to her being heavily disliked by Democrats, Republicans tend to validate decisions made by President Trump.
"This is somewhat expected in the aftermath of her termination, which was praised by both liberal opponents and then of course Trump supporters who would support his decision," Hellwege told News Watch.
Majority approve of Rhoden, Rounds job performance
Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden, who succeeded Noem last year when she took the DHS post, received a 53% job approval rating in the poll, with 29% disapproving and 18% of respondents being unsure.
Rhoden, who is from Union Center and is running to win his job outright, has touted a successful legislative session that saw many of his proposals pass the South Dakota Legislature.
"Rhoden's job approval rating is still pretty good for a guy who more or less inherited the job," Coker told News Watch.
Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds of Pierre, who is also in a race to maintain his seat, received a 55% job approval rating in the poll, with 34% of respondents disapproving and 11% being unsure.
Rounds, who served as South Dakota governor from 2003-2011, holds a commanding lead over his GOP primary challenger, Justin McNeal of Rapid City.
Thune numbers drop
Slightly less than half of respondents approved of U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune's job performance.
Thune, who grew up in Murdo and resides in Sioux Falls, received a 49% approval rating, while 39% disapproved and 12% were unsure.
When asked whether Thune, who has served as senator since 2005 and majority leader since last year, is committed to South Dakota, 48% of respondents said yes, while 42% said no and 9% were undecided.
Both figures are down from the last South Dakota News Watch poll in November last year that found 54% of respondents approving Thune's job performance and commitment to South Dakota.
As Thune grows in national prominence due to his status as majority leader, questions have been raised whether he would suffer a similar fate as the man he originally ousted: Democrat Tom Daschle. Daschle, from Aberdeen, rose to become Senate majority leader but along the way was also seen as putting national party politics over the interests of South Dakota.
Thune ended up recording a close victory over Daschle in the 2004 U.S. Senate race.
A plurality of respondents disapproved of Thune's performance as the Republican's leader in the Senate, with 47% disapproving, 38% approving and 15% not sure, the poll found.
Coker said Thune's lower job approval numbers could be tied to the "Daschle effect" and said that while he doesn't see the Senate majority leader having difficulty in a general election, he might have to worry about someone from within the South Dakota GOP.
"He's been sucked into that Washington vortex and paying a price," Coker said. "I don't see him as someone who could be challenged in the general election, but it would be interesting to see if he gets a challenger in the primary."
Thune is up for reelection in 2028.
Overall trends
Hellwege pointed out that while the job approval ratings for Rhoden, Rounds and Thune do not vary greatly by region, there is a clear divide among young and old.
While 65% of respondents aged 65 and older approve of Rhoden's performance, only 35% of those aged 18-34 approved.
Alexander Rifaat
Similarly for Thune, 55% of those surveyed aged 65 or older approved of his performance, but only 38% of those aged 18-34 felt the same way.
For Rounds, 67% of those aged 65 and older approve of his performance, while 45% of those aged 18-34 approved.
In addition to age, Hellwege also highlighted that women tended to less approve of the elected officials compared to men.
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Rhoden's job approval rating was 43% among women and 65% among men. Thune's job approval rating was 58% among men and 42% among women. Rounds received approval from 61% of men and 50% of women.
"This seems to signal something more about those gender and age differences in expectations and approval of elected officials overall rather than specific assessment of the individual officeholders, particularly given that the gender differences hold even for Noem," Hellwege said, pointing out that, for the former governor, her disapproval numbers were high across age and gender categories.
Coming Wednesday
Wednesday's story will delve into the South Dakota News Watch/Chiesman Center for Democracy poll results on voter sentiment toward a number of topical issues, including recent tax legislation, local law enforcement cooperation with ICE, data centers and the implementation of new voter ID laws.
South Dakota News Watch is an independent nonprofit. Read, donate and subscribe for free at sdnewswatch.org. Contact politics and statehouse reporter Alexander Rifaat: 605-736-4396/alexander.rifaat@sdnewswatch.org.
