CBS News has confirmed that Sarah Huckabee Sanders is running for governor of Arkansas in the 2022 election. A source familiar with her plans said she would make the announcement Monday.
The current Republican governor, Asa Hutchinson, could not run again due to term limits.
Sanders, the daughter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, became a household name while working as part of the Trump White House communications team. She initially served as White House Deputy Press Secretary before taking over as Press Secretary after Sean Spicer resigned. She was publicly known for her conflicting relationship with the press and had a good relationship with many reporters in private.
When she left the administration in June 2019, she did not provide press information for more than 100 days. She tweeted at the time that she was leaving with her ‘head up’.
Sanders served as press secretary for two years. Her successor, Stephanie Grisham, left after 10 months without holding a single press briefing. Sanders, one of the original Trump White House staff members, called for mr. Trump to work the “opportunity of a lifetime.”
Her offer for governor was widely expected – Mr. Trump tweeted when she left the press office that he hoped she would act.
“After 3 1/2 years, our wonderful Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be leaving the White House at the end of the month and going home to the Great State of Arkansas,” he said. Trump wrote in June 2019 on his Twitter account that has now been removed. . “She’s a very special person with extraordinary talents who has done incredible work. I hope she decides to present her to the Governor of Arkansas – she will be fantastic. Sarah, thank you for the great work!”
Sanders was a favorite adviser to Mr. Trump, and she was a regular guest during his campaign, even after she left the White House.
Since leaving the White House, Sanders has published a best-selling book called “Speaking for Myself: Faith, Freedom and the Fight for Our Lives Inside the Trump White House,” which describes her time as the first working mother to press in the White House. wash. secretary.
“As a working mother, it is not lost on me what a great honor and privilege it is to stand here on the podium,” she said memorably during an information session.
Sanders also likens her time as press secretary to being caught between a ‘furious battle between the president and the media’.
“I often felt like I was at the forefront in no-man’s land,” Sander wrote.
Sanders will run in a Republican primary race, which already includes two state-elected officials: Lieutenant-Governor Tim Griffin and Attorney General Leslie Rutledge.