Former White House Spokeswoman Sanders Launches Bid for Arkansas Governor

Sarah Sanders, one of former President Donald Trump's White House press secretaries, announced  Monday that she would seek the Republican Party's nomination for governor of Arkansas in the 2022 election.

Sanders, who left the White House in 2019 under good terms with Trump and backed his bid for reelection in November, faces a potential crowded race that could test the former president's hold on the Republican Party as it regroups.

In a video posted with a tweet announcing "I'm in," Sanders vowed to uphold "law and order," and positioned herself as a bulwark against "the radical left," "socialism" and "cancel culture."

Arkansas's Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin has said he will also seek the Republican nomination in the race, which could also include state Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and Arkansas Senate President Jim Hendren, according to local media reports.

Current Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term in the deeply conservative southern U.S. state.

Sanders, 38, was Trump's second press secretary, taking over from Sean Spicer. She left the job to return home to Arkansas, where her father Mike Huckabee also served as governor from 1996 to 2007.