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Top Ranked Governors Win Big in Mid-term Elections: ALEC on NTD News

People don't move to South Dakota for the weather. It's freezing in South Dakota in the winter, but they are moving there because of economic opportunities.

Lee Schalk, ALEC VP of Policy, joined NTD News to talk about the big re-election victories of top-ranked Laffer-ALEC governors in the mid-term elections .

Host: Governors who scored in the top ten on the Laffer-ALEC Report on Economic Freedom, Grading America’s Governors  all cruised to easy victories in the mid-term elections. What does this tell us about governors who have embraced the principles of limited government and free markets?

Lee Schalk: The constituents of these governors really appreciated not only the pandemic response, but also the approach to policies like maintaining lower taxes and worker freedom. A lot of these states are right to work states, but they also believe in empowering parents to make the best decisions for their students. Looking at the pandemic response, I think is so important because by not locking down their economies, they allowed businesses to flourish. They allowed families and parents to continue to go to work and earn a paycheck and not have their lives ruined or interrupted by government regulations.

Host: So we’ve seen these top conservative governors get a major victory in the midterms. But what about more liberal minded governors like Gavin Newsom, for example?

Lee Schalk: Gavin Newsom was one of the worst rated governors in America, according to our report. Hundreds of thousands of people fled California in search of greener pastures and better economic opportunity, especially during the pandemic. I think that a lot of those voters ultimately voted for Republican governors in the midterms.

Host: Can you explain a little bit more about these constituents migrating and going to other states that have leadership that aligns more with their values?

Lee Schalk: If you look at the latest Census Bureau data, particularly from the height of the pandemic, for example, California, New York or New Jersey, we saw hundreds of thousands of people pack up and move. This is a trend that’s been going on for years in California. But this was really was exacerbated during the pandemic.

Host: Tell us a little bit more about top-ranked Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota and how her  policies helped her gain re-election.

Lee Schalk: Governor Noem’s approach to maintaining a low tax environment for businesses and families is key to her state’s economic prosperity.  People don’t move to South Dakota for the weather. It’s freezing in South Dakota in the winter, but they are moving there because of economic opportunities. So while states like California, are shrinking in terms of population, even South Dakota is growing, and a lot of that is due to governor’s like Kristi Noem.