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South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem spent a fair bit of time stumping for the Republican incumbents in Georgia’s Senate runoffs, so it’s no shock that she’s unhappy the Democrats won both seats. But after tweeting this week that “there are consequences for how we talk about each other in this country,” Noem falsely called Senators-elect Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff communists in a speech to the Republican National Committee.
“Republicans got our butts kicked in Georgia on Tuesday,” Noem said, according to a condensed version of the Thursday speech published by The Federalist. “A 33-year-old with no accomplishments and a smooth-talking preacher wiped the floor with us. The idea that Georgia, of all places, could elect two communists to the United States Senate was ridiculous.” The Argus Leader reports that Democrats blasted Noem for the comments. “Gov. Noem claims that ‘words have consequences,’ and there is no better example of this than her emulating President Trump’s rhetoric as she campaigned for him across the country,” said Pam Cole, executive director of the state Democratic Party.