Sarah Huckabee Sanders Confirms She's Eyeing A Run For Arkansas Governor

When Sarah Huckabee-Sanders stepped down in June as White House press secretary, rumors sprung up that she may be seeking political office in her home state of Arkansas. Although she was coy about the possibility at the time, it appears she may be preparing to make an official announcement for her intent to run for governor in 2022.

Before her official resignation, President Donald Trump tweeted his endorsement for Sanders as Arkansas governor, saying she would be “fantastic.”

More recently, Sanders, along with the president, appeared at a Turning Point USA event in Florida when she seemingly confirmed that she was in the process of building her campaign. “I’m very seriously looking at [running for governor of Arkansas] right now,” Sanders said at the event. “We’ll see what happens,” she said.

Despite leaving the White House, Sanders has been busy giving interviews and preparing to release a book about her time in the Trump administration. She’s also joined Fox News as a political commentator.

Before the event in Florida, Sanders told the New York Times that she felt as though she had “been called” to run for office, but that helping Trump retain the White House in 2020 would be her main focus for now.

Currently, Republican Asa Hutchinson is serving as Arkansas’ governor, but his term limit is up in three years. That will open the door for Sanders to try to follow in her father’s footsteps; Sanders’ father, Mike Huckabee, served as governor of Arkansas for ten years.

While Sanders has yet to formally announce a platform, she has a clear advantage in 2022 thanks to her time at the White House. Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), whose campaign was managed by Sanders, said that, “probably the biggest thing she has is 100 percent name ID and that’s so difficult to obtain.”

Although it may seem premature for Sanders to consider throwing her hat into the ring, other Republicans eyeing the governor spot in Arkansas have already been busy building their support base. So far, Tim Griffin, the current lieutenant governor, has announced his plan to run. As of yet, no Democrats have said they are seeking to run in 2022.