SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Governor Kristi Noem told reporters Wednesday she’s “absolutely” staying in South Dakota to serve as governor if she is re-elected. 

Noem answered the question from Associated Press reporter Stephen Groves at Sunshine Foods in downtown Sioux Falls. 

“I’m absolutely running to be re-elected and to serve four years,” Noem said. 

Groves then asked if she’s ruling out anything in 2024. 

“My plans are to stay here for four years. Absolutely,” Noem said. “That’s what I want to do. Stay home here in South Dakota. That’s why I wake up every day blessed to be here.” 

Noem has raised her national profile since becoming South Dakota’s first female governor in 2018. This summer, Noem told CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett she believes former president Donald Trump would run for president again and she’d support him. 

One week after winning her fourth term as South Dakota’s lone U.S. Representative in 2016, Noem announced she’d seek to become the governor in 2018 after Dennis Daugaard was term limited.

KELOLAND News asked Noem’s gubernatorial challengers – Jamie Smith, a Sioux Falls lawmaker and Democrat candidate, and Tracey Quint, a Sioux Falls outreach coordinator and Libertarian candidate – the same question about committing to serving a full four-year term, if elected. 

Alex Matson, a spokesman for Jamie Smith’s campaign, said Smith would serve his full four-year term. 

“Yes, Jamie Smith absolutely commits to staying in South Dakota for the entirety of his term,” Matson said. “And unlike Governor Noem, when he says it, he means it.” 

Quint also committed to serving a four-year term. 

“Barring some sort of catastrophic event, I plan to commit to a full four-year term if elected,” Quint said in an email to KELOLAND News. “When you run for office, you make a commitment to that position and to the people of your state. If a candidate has other plans or goals, those should wait until after their term or they should plan not to run in the first place.”