(The Hill) — Nearly 40 percent of South Dakota residents said Gov. Kristi Noem’s (R) shooting of her dog was justified after the governor faced backlash over sharing the story in her new memoir, according to a new poll.
About 38 percent of South Dakotans described the shooting of her nearly 14-month-old hunting dog as justified, while about 58 percent said it was not justified, according to a poll published by the Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy and co-sponsored by South Dakota News Watch.
Noem, who was floated as a possible vice presidential pick for former President Trump, came under fire after an excerpt from her new memoir, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward,” revealed how she shot her dog Cricket many years ago.
The South Dakota governor said she shot the German wirehaired pointer on her property after taking it pheasant hunting. Noem said she “hated” the dog and claimed it was responsible for attacking a neighbor’s chickens and trying to bite her. She also wrote of shooting and killing a “nasty and mean” male goat that smelled and liked to chase her children, shortly after killing the dog.
Residents in the Mount Rushmore State varied in their views on the shooting based on their political party, per the poll.
Most surveyed Democrats, or nearly 90 percent, said the shooting was unjustified, while 22 percent of Republicans said the same. More than half of surveyed Republicans, or about 58 percent, said it was justified, while nearly 11 percent of Democrats felt the same.
The majority of surveyed independents — nearly 61 percent — said the shooting was unjustified, and almost 26 percent said it was justified.
Male residents were fairly split on the topic, with about 45 percent saying it was justified, 50 percent choosing unjustified and about 5 percent choosing undecided.
More females in the poll — 65 percent — did not think it was justified, while nearly 32 percent did.
“It’s not surprising, perhaps, that women were more critical of the shooting of the family dog, but half of men thought the same thing,” Michael Card, an emeritus professor of political science at the University of South Dakota, told South Dakota News Watch. “There’s a lot of room for the governor to grow, in terms of repairing her image.”
Noem faced a swarm of scrutiny earlier this month when multiple Democratic governors and conservatives condemned her for the pet killing. She defended her actions and said the incident and her willingness to share it were a testament to her authenticity and ability to make difficult choices.
The poll was conducted among 500 registered voters in South Dakota from May 10 to 13. Its margin of error is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
