Outgoing White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders is "extremely serious" about a campaign for governor of Arkansas, including being in contact, along with allies, with donors and state Republican operatives, according to sources who have spoken with her recently.
“She would be formidable if she were to get into the race,” Roby Brock, a longtime Arkansas political reporter, told Politico about Sanders, whose father, Mike Huckabee, was the governor of Arkansas from 1996-2007. “She’s got the Huckabee political machine, the (Sen. John) Boozman political machine, and the (President Donald) Trump political machine.”
Sanders did not comment for the article, and some of her allies said she's just making contact with longtime friends, and that she'd be calling them whether or not she's planning a race for governor.
Trump has encouraged Sanders to run, including during his campaign rollout Tuesday night when he introduced her on stage by saying he had "a feeling" she'd be running "for a certain gubernatorial position."
Republican operatives in Arkansas also pointed out that Sanders could bring in more money than other expected candidates from backers both in the state and nationally, as Trump remains popular in the state.
“Arkansans believe she has done a superb job as press secretary for the president," said Doyle Webb, chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party. "I wouldn’t want to speculate about what her political future is. I’m fairly certain that [Trump’s] support and any support she’s built on her own would be a considerable [asset].”
Sanders started working in politics for her father's campaigns, including as national political director for his presidential campaign in 2008 and as campaign manager when he ran in 2016, before joining the Trump campaign as a senior adviser.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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