South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem formally launched her reelection campaign on Friday. Noem is considered a rising star in the Republican Party ranks.

The 49-year-old had already announced she would seek a second term. “We have been through challenging times but have also accomplished great things together,” Noem said in the statement. “We’ve embraced fiscal responsibility, protected the freedoms of our people, fought federal government intrusions and invested in the next generation through education, healthcare, expanding broadband, and providing new career opportunities so our children can stay in South Dakota.”

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Meanwhile, her campaign statement said, Noem had raised over $10 million since she was elected three years ago. She has more than $6.5 million in cash on hand, the campaign said. 

The governor made the headlines when she adamantly opposed government-imposed restrictions to respond to the pandemic although she would not forbid private businesses to mandate vaccinations for their own employees.

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She has a strong relationship with former US president Donald Trump. Last year, when she put on a fireworks display above Mount Rushmore to commemorate Independence Day, she gave Trump the chance to appear in a patriotic show that drew tens of thousands of people.

However, she enraged several Republicans by voting against a bill prohibiting transgender women from participating in girls’ and women’s sports in a way that went against conservative orthodoxy.

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“Together we’re setting an example for the nation,” Noem said in a short campaign video posted Friday. “And we’ll ensure that the next generation of South Dakotans can grow up happy and free.”

After serving in the state legislature, Noem swept into the U.S. House with the tea party wave in 2010 and served eight years. She won the governor’s office with 51% of the vote in 2018.

With inputs from the Associated Press