Former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders has experienced an outpouring of donations in the days after she announced her Arkansas gubernatorial bid, her campaign said.
Sanders, 38, announced her candidacy on Monday, and she had raised more than $1 million by Thursday, according to a post on her campaign website, which added that she received donations from each of Arkansas’s 75 counties.
“I’m grateful for the outpouring of support from Arkansans for my campaign — our message is powerfully resonating with people in every corner of our state. As governor, I will represent all Arkansans, defend our freedom and lead with heart,” Sanders said.
Despite her fundraising haul less than a week into her campaign, Sanders will face tough competition in the primary. She is running against Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin, who has raised $1.8 million since March, while fellow gubernatorial candidate Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge has raised more than $1 million dating back to July, according to the Washington Post. All three are hoping to succeed Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who cannot seek reelection as a result of the state’s term limit rules.
Arkansas is a solidly red state, with Republicans holding all of its statewide and federal offices. No Democrat has entered the gubernatorial race to date.
Sanders was already endorsed by former President Donald Trump, his first since leaving office.
“Sarah is strong on Borders, tough on Crime, and fully supports the Second Amendment and our great law enforcement officers,” Trump said in a statement on Monday. “She loves our Military and Veterans — and her home state of Arkansas. Sarah will be a GREAT Governor, and she has my Complete and Total Endorsement!”
Sanders, who was Trump’s press secretary from 2017 to 2019, posted a nearly eight-minute video to Twitter on Monday to announce her run for the governorship that was held by her father, Mike Huckabee, from 1996 to 2007.
In the video, she highlighted her role in the administration, which she described as “successfully managing one crisis after another” as she sat “at the table with President Trump, confronting our most dangerous adversaries, like China and North Korea.”
