Sarah Huckabee Sanders

Republican Party

Candidate, Governor of Arkansas

Elections and appointments

Next election

November 8, 2022

Contact

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Sarah Huckabee Sanders (Republican Party) is running for election for Governor of Arkansas. She declared candidacy for the 2022 election.

Sanders was previously the press secretary in the presidential administration of Donald Trump (R).[1][2]

## Contents

* 1 Biography
* 2 Early career
* 2.1 Early career
* 2.2 Mike Huckabee presidential campaign, 2008
* 2.3 Arkansas politics
* 3 Tim Pawlenty presidential campaign, 2012
* 4 Consulting work
* 5 Mike Huckabee presidential campaign, 2016
* 6 Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016
* 6.1 Comments on women voters
* 6.2 Role expansion
* 7 Donald Trump presidential administration
* 7.1 Deputy press secretary
* 7.2 Promotion to press secretary
* 8 Elections
* 8.1 2022
* 9 Campaign themes
* 9.1 2022
* 10 Media
* 11 Personal
* 12 See also
* 13 External links
* 14 Footnotes

## Biography[edit]

Sanders served as the press secretary in the presidential administration of Donald Trump (R). On June 13, 2019, Trump announced Huckabee Sanders would step down as press secretary at the end of the month.[3]

Huckabee Sanders is the founding partner of Second Street Strategies in Little Rock, Arkansas, which was founded to consult on national political campaigns and on campaigns for federal office in Arkansas.[4] In 2016, after managing Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign, she signed on as a senior advisor for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, handling the Trump campaign's communications for coalitions.[5][6]

Huckabee Sanders previously managed the 2016 presidential campaign of Mike Huckabee and worked as Huckabee's national political director in 2008.[7] She served as a senior advisor to Tim Pawlenty in his 2012 presidential run.[8]She was also involved in the campaigns of John Boozman (R-Ark.) 2010 campaign and serving as an advisor to Tom Cotton's (R-Ark.) 2014 campaign.

## Early career[edit]

### Early career[edit]

Huckabee Sanders initially worked in politics as a field coordinator for Mike Huckabee (R) in his 2002 Arkansas gubernatorial re-election, as a regional liaison for congressional affairs at the U.S. Department of Education, and as an Ohio field director for George W. Bush's (R) 2004 presidential campaign.[9]

### Mike Huckabee presidential campaign, 2008[edit]

In 2008, Huckabee Sanders worked as the national political director for Huckabee's presidential campaign, and, according to the campaign, directed the "Iowa campaign to a landslide upset victory in the Iowa caucuses."[7] A 2007 profile in Time magazine noted that Huckabee Sanders' time in the 2008 campaign was spent "working up to 90 hours a week, running her father's schedule and event briefings not only in Iowa but in South Carolina and New Hampshire; in addition, she [oversaw] outreach and [acted] as her Dad's surrogate in Iowa."[10] USA Today noted that she advised her father "on everything from debate strategy to tie selection. Father and daughter became close, personally and politically, during regular Wednesday breakfasts while he was governor of Arkansas."[11] After Huckabee withdrew from the race, she became the director of Huck PAC, a political action committee founded "to promote conservative principles and help elect conservative candidates at every level of government."[12]

### Arkansas politics[edit]

As campaign manager for John Boozman's (R-Ark.) 2010 U.S. Senate race, Huckabee Sanders worked to position Boozman's opponent as a "solid vote for President Obama" and Boozman as an alternative who "stands up to the Obama Administration’s reckless agenda," according to the campaign's website.[13] During the campaign, Huckabee Sanders stood in for Boozman—who was then in the House of Representatives—in the first debate of the Republican primary. Huckabee Sanders insisted that Boozman was unavailable to debate himself because he was "in D.C. fighting against (the Senate health care bill)."[14]

That year, she also married fellow campaign consultant Bryan Sanders, who she met during Mike Huckabee's 2008 presidential campaign in Iowa.[15] Huckabee Sanders was also named to Time magazine's "40 under 40" in 2010. She told the magazine that the most important issue to her was family: "America needs more fathers taking an active role in their children's lives. Kids who are the victims of broken families are more likely to end up in poverty, rehab, or jail. I'm a Republican, but I respect President Obama for setting the right example and addressing this problem. I hope more people will join him in his efforts."[16]

## Tim Pawlenty presidential campaign, 2012[edit]

Huckabee Sanders in a video blog for the Pawlenty campaign in Iowa, July 2011

During the 2012 Republican presidential primary, Huckabee Sanders joined the campaign for Tim Pawlenty, focusing initially on Pawlenty's Iowa campaign. Of her decision to join Pawlenty's campaign, she said: "I’m delighted to join the Governor and First Lady in Iowa, which holds a special place in my heart … It’s clear to me that Gov. Pawlenty has what it takes to unite the party, unite the country and beat President Obama."[17] At the time of her hiring, in July 2011, Pawlenty was trailing in the Iowa polls. The Los Angeles Times noted that Huckabee Sanders "fits with Pawlenty’s current all-Iowa, all-the-time strategy" at that point in his campaign.[18]

## Consulting work[edit]

In addition to her work on elections, Huckabee Sanders began as a full-time consultant at Tsamoutales Strategies in 2011 and became vice president of the group in January 2014.[19] While there, Huckabee Sanders worked with the ONE Campaign—founded by U2's Bono—as well as "several Fortune 500 companies," according to the company's website.[9] Huckabee Sanders left Tsamoutales Strategies in June 2015 and founded her own consulting firm, Second Street Strategies, in February 2016.[20]

In May 2016, Huckabee Sanders signed on as a senior advisor to Missouri gubernatorial candidate John Brunner (R). At the time of her hiring, The Missouri Times reported that Huckabee Sanders would "serve as a senior advisor to the campaign, and will be guiding and executing the campaign’s strategy on Faith Voter Outreach."[21]

## Mike Huckabee presidential campaign, 2016[edit]

Huckabee Sanders and Alice Stewart speak with Bloomberg about Mike Huckabee's then-potential run for president in January 2015

See also: Mike Huckabee presidential campaign, 2016

Huckabee Sanders was officially announced as campaign manager for Huckabee's campaign on May 7, 2015.[8] Of Huckabee's candidacy, she told CNN: "As my dad likes to say, 'We're at a great advantage because we've been through this before, and we're at a great disadvantage because we've been through this before.' He's going to have a bigger target on his back."[22] In September 2015, Huckabee Sanders told the Northeast Ohio Media Group that the Huckabee campaign was "focusing more on what Huckabee did as governor of Arkansas instead of his past as a Baptist preacher."[23]

Huckabee suspended his presidential campaign on February 1, 2016, after receiving 1.8 percent of the votes in the Iowa caucuses.[24][25]

## Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016[edit]

See also: Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016

On February 25, 2016, CNN reported that the Trump presidential campaign hired Huckabee Sanders as a senior advisor. In a statement reported in the story, Huckabee Sanders said the following:[26]

More on Donald Trump's 2016 campaign staff

Staff overview
• Trump staff overview

* * *

Management and strategy

•Steve Bannon, Executive chairman
•Kellyanne Conway, Campaign manager
•David Bossie, Deputy campaign manager
•Michael Glassner, Deputy campaign manager
•Jim Murphy, National political director
•John Mashburn, Policy director

* * *

Communications

•Hope Hicks, Communications director
•Jason Miller, Senior communications advisor
•Katrina Pierson, Campaign spokesperson

* * *

Advisors

•Roger Stone, Informal advisor
•Sam Clovis, Co-chair and policy advisor
•Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Senior advisor
•Michael Biundo, Senior advisor

* * *

“  | I volunteered to join Mr. Trump's campaign because he is a champion of working families; not Washington-Wall Street elites. ... What makes Mr. Trump my choice for president is he will break the grip of the donor class on our government and make it accountable to working families again.[27] |  ”

|
|

On February 27, 2016, Huckabee Sanders spoke with CNN about Trump's appeal and his supporters. She said, "I keep hearing all these pundits and people from the media and other politicians talking about how bad Donald Trump is for America and, in particular, how bad people are that support Donald Trump. My thing is that they're not bad for America, they are America." CNN also noted, "Huckabee Sanders said Washington is being controlled by donors and special interests and believes Trump is the only presidential candidate who can go there and fix it."[28]

### Comments on women voters[edit]

After winning the primary election in New York, Trump criticized Hillary Clinton for her approach to campaigning. He said, "I think the only card she has is the women’s card. Frankly, if Hillary Clinton were a man, I don’t think she would get 5% of the vote."[29] In response to criticism over Trump's statement Huckabee Sanders told ABC News, "I think he [Trump] is pointing out something, frankly, Bernie Sanders' campaign has been talking about for months -- that Hillary Clinton's biggest thing that she's running on is the fact that she's a woman. ... The person that is playing the woman card is Hillary, not Donald Trump."[30]

### Role expansion[edit]

According to The Hill, Huckabee Sanders' role expanded in September 2016 to involve communications for coalitions with the Trump campaign. The site reported that she would "still do on-air surrogate appearances, but [would] also be responsible for communications for coalitions for the Republican nominee's campaign."[6] Bloomberg reported that she would work specifically with "faith leaders, gun rights supporters, military groups, and other voter coalitions."[31]

## Donald Trump presidential administration[edit]

See also: Donald Trump White House staff

### Deputy press secretary[edit]

Huckabee Sanders joined Trump's presidential administration near the end of the transition of power. She was named the deputy assistant to the president and deputy press secretary on January 19, 2017.[1] In May 2017, Huckabee Sanders stepped in for press secretary Sean Spicer when Spicer was away on Naval Reserve duty. During that time, Huckabee Sanders handled press conferences related to Trump's firing of James Comey as FBI director.[32]

### Promotion to press secretary[edit]

On July 21, 2017, press secretary Sean Spicer resigned after Trump appointed Anthony Scaramucci as the White House communications director. That day, Scaramucci promoted Huckabee Sanders to the position of press secretary.[2] On June 13, 2019, Trump announced she would step down at the end of the month.

## Elections[edit]

### 2022[edit]

See also: Arkansas gubernatorial election, 2022

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated. Before the candidate filing deadline passes, Ballotpedia will separate these candidates into their respective primaries as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 8, 2022.

##### General election for Governor of Arkansas

The following candidates are running in the general election for Governor of Arkansas on November 8, 2022.

Candidate

|

| Anthony Bland (D)

| Chris Jones (D)

| James Russell (D)

| Supha Xayprasith-Mays (D)

| Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R)

| Ricky Dale Harrington Jr. (L)

* * *

There are no incumbents in this race.

|

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

#### Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

* Leslie Rutledge (R)
* Tim Griffin (R)

## Campaign themes[edit]

### 2022[edit]

#### Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Sarah Huckabee Sanders has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

* 4,745 candidates completed the survey in 2020. This number represented 16.4% of all 29,002 candidates Ballotpedia covered in 2020. Out of the 4,745 respondents, 743 won their election. Candidates from all 50 states completed the survey. Noteworthy respondents included U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff and U.S. presidential candidate Jo Jorgensen. Read the 2020 report for more information about that year's respondents.

* 872 candidates completed the survey in 2019. This number represented 10.4% of all 8,386 candidates Ballotpedia covered in 2019. Out of the 872 respondents, 237 won their election. Candidates from 33 states completed the survey. Noteworthy respondents included Nashville Mayor John Cooper and Mississippi Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann. Read the  2019 report for more information about that year's respondents.

You can ask Sarah Huckabee Sanders to fill out this survey by using the button below.

## Media[edit]

Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaking on 2010 U.S. Senate campaign

Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign, 2008

Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaks with Arkansas journalist John Brummett, August 2015

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|

## Personal[edit]

Huckabee Sanders is Mike Huckabee's daughter and is married to Bryan Sanders, Huckabee's 2016 media consultant.[33]

## See also[edit]

* Mike Huckabee presidential campaign, 2016
* Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016
* Bryan Sanders
* John Boozman
* Tom Cotton

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## External links[edit]

* Second Street Strategies
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## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 CNN, "Sarah Huckabee Sanders, daughter of Mike Huckabee, gets job in Trump White House," January 19, 2017
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Hill, "Sarah Huckabee Sanders to be new White House press secretary," July 21, 2017
3. ↑ Axios, "Sarah Sanders is leaving the White House," June 13, 2019
4. ↑ Second Street Strategies, "About Us," accessed November 7, 2016
5. ↑ Arkansas News, "Huckabee's daughter joins Trump team; Rubio to campaign with Hutchinson," February 25, 2016
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Hill, "Sarah Huckabee Sanders joining Trump's communications staff," September 4, 2016
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 P2016, "News Release: Gov. Huckabee announces national campaign team," May 7, 2015
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 The Hill, "Huckabee's daughter to run '16 campaign," May 7, 2015
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Tsamoutales Strategies, "Leadership," archived May 26, 2015
10. ↑ Time, "Huckabee's Family Field General," December 11, 2007
11. ↑ USA Today, "Candidates see relatives as trustworthy operatives," July 14, 2007
12. ↑ Huck PAC, "About," accessed May 28, 2015
13. ↑ Boozman for Arkansas, "U.S. Senate Debate Preview," October 13, 2010
14. ↑ Politico, "Sarah Huckabee debates," March 17, 2010
15. ↑ Campaigns and Elections, "Bryan Sanders, 27, Republican," accessed March 1, 2016
16. ↑ Time, "Sarah Huckabee," accessed March 1, 2016
17. ↑ Politico, "Sarah Huckabee Sanders joins Tim Pawlenty," July 5, 2011
18. ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Pawlenty seeks to capture some Huckabee magic," July 5, 2011
19. ↑ Sunshine State News, "Mike Haridopolos and Sarah Huckabee Sanders Have New Jobs," January 21, 2014
20. ↑ David Borman, "Email communication with Sarah Huckabee Sanders," November 7, 2016
21. ↑ The Missouri Times, "Sarah Huckabee Sanders joins Brunner campaign as senior advisor," May 31, 2016
22. ↑ CNN, "Mike Huckabee running for another White House bid," May 5, 2015
23. ↑ Northeast Ohio Media Group, "Mike Huckabee's top staffers reveal their new campaign strategy: Mike Huckabee in the news," September 14, 2015
24. ↑ CNN, "Iowa Results," February 1, 2016
25. ↑ USA Today, "Huckabee ends GOP presidential bid," February 1, 2016
26. ↑ CNN, "Donald Trump hires Mike Huckabee's daughter as senior adviser," February 25, 2016
27. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
28. ↑ CNN, "Mike Huckabee's daughter: Negative tone in GOP race helps Clinton," February 27, 2016
29. ↑ Time, "Trump and Clinton Battle Over ‘Woman Card’ Criticism," April 27, 2016
30. ↑ ABC News, "Clinton, Not Trump, Playing 'Woman Card,' Says Trump Senior Adviser," May 1, 2016
31. ↑ Bloomberg, "Trump Camp Optimistic Minority Outreach Efforts Will Be Effective," September 6, 2016
32. ↑ Politico, "Trump holds auditions while Spicer’s away," May 10, 2017
33. ↑ Time, "Huckabee Staff Picks Underline New Focus on Fundraising," May 7, 2015

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