Congratulations to Kristi Noem, who was sworn in on January 5, 2019 as the 33rd Governor of South Dakota. Governor Noem’s inaugural address focused on the next generation:
I want to be a governor for the next generation. . . . For our kids, teenagers and young adults. That is what motivates so many of us, across many walks of life – to work that extra shift, to stay up late putting together that bicycle or forgo a new car so we can help pay for their school. Nothing makes my day like spending time with kids. Nothing motivates me more in public service than solving problems for our next generation. . . . [T]he north star that I want to follow with each decision I make as governor is the impact on the next generation. How does this policy, this legislation, this program, impact the next generation of South Dakotans?
As she explained, Governor Noem’s focus on the next generation is the prism through which she will frame policy decisions. Her success in that regard will be judged over the the coming months and years as she begins her new administration.
In two key ways, though, Governor Noem already signals a new generation. Most obviously, she is the first woman to be Governor of South Dakota; this milestone was mentioned throughout the inaugural festivities.
Secondly, though, Governor Noem is in fact from “the next generation.”
Noem is 18 years and 172 days younger than her predecessor, Governor Dennis Daugaard. When Kristi Arnold was born on November 30, 1971, Dennis Daugaard was a freshman at the University of South Dakota.
This is the largest age difference between an outgoing and an incoming governor in South Dakota history. Three previous incoming governors were 15 years younger than their immediate predecessors:
- The largest gap among the three was Nils Boe and Frank Farrar. When Farrar took office in 1969, he was 15 years, 204 days younger than Boe.
- In 1947, George T. Mickelson was 15 years, 193 days younger than M. Q. Sharpe. Governor Sharpe had sought a third term in 1946 but lost the Republican primary to Mickelson.
- In 2003, M. Michael Rounds was 15 years, 41 days younger than William J. Janklow.
The Daugaard-Noem age difference is primarily because Daugaard, who is a youthful 65 years and 208 days old as he leaves office, is unusually old; only Walter Dale Miller was older when he left the Governor’s Office. Noem took the oath of office at the age of 47 years and 36 days; she is very near the average age of 49 years and 230 days for a new governor.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, in 1931 Warren E. Green succeeded W. J. Bulow; Green was only 56 days younger than Bulow. Green, like Noem, was a native of Hamlin County.
(There are also seven instances where the new governor was older than his immediate predecessor: Mellette-to-Sheldon, Herreid-Elrod, McMaster-Gunderson, Jensen-Bushfield, Foss-Herseth, Mickelson-Miller, and Rounds-Daugaard. The largest such gap was between George S. Mickelson and Walter Dale Miller; Miller was 15 years and 118 days older than Mickelson, his predecessor.)
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