PIERRE, S.D.(Press Release) – On Tuesday, the Kristi for Governor campaign responded to South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s (SDPB) plan to “provide an empty chair in the space Kristi Noem would normally occupy.”

“With this gimmick, SDPB has validated all our concerns about their bias. They are more interested in embarrassing the Governor than in a serious debate,” said Ian Fury, Communications Director for Kristi for Governor. “I would remind SDPB that they are a taxpayer funded organization, and 49% of registered South Dakota voters are Republicans. Perhaps they should address concerns about their bias and learn their audience better. In the meantime, Governor Noem will continue to educate the people of South Dakota about their increasing leftward slant.”

Last week, SDPB’s national affiliate, National Public Radio (NPR), announced a new “disinformation reporting team,” which quickly drew criticism from many for NPR’s immediate dismissal of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal in the midst of the 2020 election. “We don’t want to waste our time on stories that are not really stories, and we don’t want to waste the listeners’ and readers’ time on stories that are just pure distractions,” NPR’s Managing Editor for News, Terence Samuels, said at the time. The original New York Post story has since been proven accurate.