Noem won't endorse in presidential race, says primary good for GOP

• Rep. Noem

Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D.

Talk about it

The ongoing battle for the Republican presidential nomination may end up being good for the party, according to Rep. Kristi Noem.

Noem, who was in Mitchell for a meeting on rising gas prices Mon-day, said she thinks the topsy-turvy GOP race is a positive thing and has focused attention on the party.

“I don’t know why people are so worried,” she said. “Hey, we live in a republic. This is how it works.”

The 2008 Democratic battle for the party’s presidential nomination continued into June, and that didn’t hurt the party, Noem noted. Then-Sen. Barack Obama bested then-Sen. Hillary Clinton for the nomination and went on to be elected president.

There are four Republicans still battling for the nomination: Mitt Romney, the frontrunner and the former governor of Massachusetts; former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum; former speaker of the House Newt Gingrich; and Texas Rep. Ron Paul.

Noem has not endorsed any of them and said she has no plans to do so. She will also keep her personal opinion of the candidates private and await the decision of the party, even if it goes to the Republican National Convention, she said.

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., has en-dorsed Romney and campaigned with him in Iowa earlier this year. Thune is a candidate to be elected a Romney delegate from South Dako-ta to the Republican National Con-vention this summer.

Tags: kristi noem, election 2012, news, updates, gop, primary, congress, politics, state