We have to get government out of the job of picking winners and losers. That's what they've been doing the last year and a half, getting in the way of businesses that are trying to reinvest to get our economy back on its feet.

A lot of people have tried to put labels on me, but right now I'm focused on being Kristi Noem and getting my message out to South Dakotans.

I think we need to have competitive tax rates in order to create jobs in this country. And I think it should be fair.

Now make no mistake, I think we need a strong dose of fiscal conservatism in Washington, D.C.

So, a lot of my supporters back home are members of the Tea Party.

We didn't come here to become Washington, we came here to change Washington.

And people talk about the stimulus package and the jobs that it was supposed to create, it certainly didn't have the intended effects that everybody was hoping for or that the president and administration certainly was hoping for. So I think it's time to lay some new solutions on the table, some new ideas.

Every one says: 'Listen, I'd love to reinvest. I'd love to hire people. But I have no idea what this healthcare bill is going to do to my bottom line. I have no idea what this financial reform bill is going to do... I'm not going to step out a limb and do any of those until I know what this government is going to do to me.'

I am honored that my freshman class colleagues have put their trust in me to represent our historic class at the leadership table. The incoming freshman class of Representatives is large and diverse but we share many common goals including cutting wasteful spending, getting our economy back on track and making government smarter and more efficient.

I think everyday people on the street who have never been affiliated with the tea party movement are alarmed with the spending and the debt that we have.

I think labels have been used alot during this election process to divide people, and at this point in time we really need people to come together, and be their own person, come with their own suggestions, and really solve the problems that we have facing this country.

I'd rather have a real South Dakotan who has lived in this state and made her living here instead of someone with a fancy East Coast law degree any day.

So when I look at spending more dollars, I look at the fact, do I really want my kids and your kids and everybody else's kids in this country to have to pay that bill?

We've got very large freshman class, it's historic in its size, so there's people that are extremely diverse in their backgrounds and their viewpoints. I think that we're going to see a conservative group of people coming together, focused on some real ideals that are going to be extremely important.