Geoff Diehl, second from left, and running mate Leah Cole Allen, left, appear at a press conference Thursday, August 11, 2022 in front of the Paul Revere statue in the North End of Boston. To the right of Diehl, a Republican running for governor of Massachusetts, are Kristi Noem, the governor of South Dakota; and Jay McMahon, a Bourne lawyer who is running for Massachusetts Attorney General. Photo by Tom Joyce for New Boston Post.
South Dakota governor Kristi Noem is a fan of Geoff Diehl.
The conservative Republican has endorsed the former state representative from Whitman in his run for governor.
But what does Noem think of Massachusetts attorney general Maura Healey, the Democrat running for governor?
NewBostonPost asked Noem if she had heard of Healey during a press conference in the North End of Boston on Thursday morning and what she thinks of the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Noem said she is familiar with where Healey stands — and that Diehl has a better grasp of what voters want in this state.
“I’ve seen what she stands for and a lot of what her priorities are. And I think that Geoff really recognizes what’s important to the people of Massachusetts,” Noem said. “He wants to address their day-to-day lives, how inflation is affecting their budgets, he wants to help their children be successful and get the education they need to go on to pursue the career that they desire so that the everyday people here in Massachusetts, his priorities line up with what theirs are, and I think he’d make a fantastic governor.”
Noem’s comment referred in part to school choice. Diehl and his running mate, former state representative Leah Cole Allen (R-Peabody), introduced a plan to expand school choice in the Commonwealth during the press conference Thursday, August 11.
Diehl and Allen support creating Education Savings Accounts, providing tax credits for parents who want to enroll their children in private schools or homeschool their kids.
“Our state has an obligation to support the education of every student, regardless of the mode of education they decide works best for them,” Allen said in a press release issued by the campaign on Thursday. “Geoff Diehl and I want to make sure every family is supported by the state when they make decisions for their children, including where they will learn and what curriculum they will be taught. For some students, that will be in a traditional public school setting, and we support them. For others, that will be in an alternative school setting, and we will support them too. We believe we can improve our public schools by fully funding them and providing adequate resources for their mission, while at the same time providing additional private school options to Massachusetts families who wish to pursue those opportunities.”
And Diehl added in the release, “Basically, we believe in promoting the freedom to make alternative education decisions, and in those cases, the dollars will follow the child.”
After the press conference, Noem, Diehl, and Allen visited several local businesses in the North End, including Pizzeria Regina, to speak to their owners about various political issues concerning small businesses.
Diehl faces Wrentham businessman Chris Doughty in the primary election. The winner will likely face Healey in the general election.
Healey’s campaign could not be reached for comment on Thursday or Friday this week.
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Geoff Diehl, second from left, and running mate Leah Cole Allen, left, appear at a press conference Thursday, August 11, 2022 in front of the Paul Revere statue in the North End of Boston. To the right of Diehl, a Republican running for governor of Massachusetts, are Kristi Noem, the governor of South Dakota; and Jay McMahon, a Bourne lawyer who is running for Massachusetts Attorney General. Photo by Tom Joyce for New Boston Post. 
