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LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (AP) – Sarah Sanders, former chief spokesperson for Donald Trump and one of his closest aides, is running for governor of Arkansas, a senior campaign official told the Associated Press.
Sanders, who left the White House in 2019 to return to his home state, planned to announce his candidacy on Monday, according to the campaign official who spoke on Sunday evening on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly before the official announcement.
The former White House press secretary launches her candidacy less than a week after the end of Trump’s presidency and as the ex-president faces an impeachment trial. But Sanders is also running in a solid red state where Republicans tend to embrace the former president.
The daughter of former Governor Mike Huckabee, Sanders was expected to run for office after leaving the White House – and Trump publicly encouraged her to get started. She laid the groundwork for a candidacy, speaking to GOP groups across the state.
Sanders joins an expensive Republican primary that already includes two elected leaders statewide, Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin and Attorney General Leslie Rutledge. The three are running to succeed current Governor Asa Hutchinson, a Republican who is unable to run next year due to term limits. No Democrats have announced a candidacy for the seat.
Sanders launched his candidacy weeks after a riot by Trump supporters on Capitol Hill killed five people. More than 130 people have been indicted in the insurgency, which aimed to interrupt the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory over Trump.
Sanders was the first mother to work and only the third woman to be a White House press secretary. But she was also faced with questions about her credibility during his tenure as Trump’s chief spokesperson.
During his nearly two-year tenure as Trump’s chief spokesperson, the daily televised briefings led by the press secretary came to an end after Sanders repeatedly clashed with reporters who spoke to him. aggressively questioned administrative policy and the investigation of possible coordination between Trump’s campaign and Russia. But Sanders has earned the respect of reporters by working behind the scenes to develop relationships with the media.
Trump’s tumultuous exit from the presidency could do little damage to Sanders in Arkansas. Republicans hold all of the state and federal seats in Arkansas, as well as a solid majority in both houses of the Legislature.
Griffin and Rutledge raised over $ 2.8 million in the race, which could get even more crowded. Republican State Senator Jim Hendren, who is also a nephew of Hutchinson, is considering a run.
Sanders, who published a book last year and joined Fox News as a contributor after leaving the White House, enters the race with a much higher profile than any of the candidates. But she remains an unknown on many of the state’s biggest issues and has said she doesn’t want to distract from Hutchinson’s agenda.
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