Kristi Lynn Noem (; née Arnold; born November 30, 1971) is an American politician and farmer serving as the 33rd governor of South Dakota since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, she was the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2019 and a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives for the 6th district from 2007 to 2011. Noem was elected governor in 2018 and is South Dakota's first female governor. During the 2018 election, she was endorsed by then-president Donald Trump. Early life and education Kristi Noem was born to Ron and Corinne Arnold in Watertown, South Dakota, and was raised with her siblings on their family ranch and farm in rural Hamlin County. She has Norwegian ancestry. Noem's father was killed in a farm machinery accident. Noem added a hunting lodge and restaurant to the family property. Her siblings moved back to help expand the businesses. Noem graduated from Hamlin High School in 1990, and was the South Dakota Snow Queen. She attended Northern State University from 1990 to 1994, but left college early to run the family farm after her father's death. Subsequently, Noem took classes at the Watertown campus of Mount Marty College and at South Dakota State University, and online classes from the University of South Dakota. She completed her degree in political science at SDSU in 2012 while serving in Congress. South Dakota House of Representatives In 2006, Noem won a seat as a Republican in the South Dakota House of Representatives, representing the 6th district (comprising parts of Beadle, Clark, Codington, Hamlin, and Kingsbury counties). In 2006, she won with 39% of the vote. In 2008, she was reelected with 41%. Noem served for four years, from 2007 to 2010; she was an assistant majority leader during her second term. During her tenure, Noem was the prime sponsor of 11 bills that became law, including several property tax reforms and two bills to increase gun rights in South Dakota. In 2009, she served as vice chair of the Agriculture Land Assessment Advisory Task Force. Senator Larry Rhoden chaired the task force and later served as her lieutenant governor. U.S. House of Representatives Elections 2010 In 2010, Noem ran for South Dakota's at-large seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. She won the Republican primary with a plurality of 42 percent of the vote against South Dakota Secretary of State Chris Nelson