"It is an absolute honor to stand before you as the 47th governor and the first woman governor of the great state of Arkansas," said Sarah Huckabee Sanders to inaugurate her first term.
Her landslide victory in the midterms propelled her to the governor's office, following in the footsteps of her father, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. In addition, she delivered the keynote remarks to Joe Biden at the State of the Union Address.
First years
Huckabee Sanders was born on Aug. 13, 1982 in Hope, Ark., a small town just 35 miles from the Texan border. It is evidently a good town to be born in for those trying to reach the upper echelons of federal politics. It is the birthplace of former President Bill Clinton, former White House Chief of Staff Mack McLarty and Deputy Oval Office Counsel Vince Foster, as well as the aforementioned Mike Huckabee, former presidential candidate, former Arkansas governor and father of the new governor.
Huckabee Sanders became involved in politics at an early age. While a student at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas, she was active in Republican youth organizations. In 1992, when her father first ran for governor, Huckabee Sanders, just 12 years old, got involved in the campaign by handing out literature and putting up signs for her father's campaign, although Huckabee ultimately failed to win that election.
In 1996, Mike Huckabee became governor of Arkansas after the previous governor resigned due to involvement in a corruption scandal. Arkansans placed their trust in Huckabee in both the 1998 and 2002 elections. In that final election, Sarah Huckabee Sanders served as his campaign coordinator.
Mike Huckabee's Presidential Campaign
The new Arkansas governor decided to join her father in his bid to become president of the United States, serving as his national policy director for the campaign in 2008 and his campaign manager in 2016. In between, in 2012, she joined former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty's campaign in the Republican primary for that year's presidential election.
Her political career gained notoriety in those years, which soon grabbed the attention of Donald Trump. Following Mike Huckabee's withdrawal from the Republican primary in 2016, she voluntarily joined as a senior advisor to the eventual president's campaign:
I volunteered to join Mr. Trump's campaign because he is an advocate for working families; not Washington-Wall Street elites. What makes Mr. Trump be my choice for president is that he will break the donor class's grip on our government and make it accountable to working families again.
White House Press Secretary
Trump's victory in the 2016 election propelled Huckabee Sanders to one of the most powerful positions: White House press secretary. Initially, she served in an "adjunct" capacity until, on July 21, 2017, she assumed primary responsibility for the position.
On July 1, 2019, she resigned after communicating her intention to become the next governor of her home state. Donald Trump thanked her for her work as White House press secretary and noted "the incredible job" she did:
After 3 1/2 years, our wonderful Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be leaving the White House at the end of the month and going home to the Great State of Arkansas....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2019
Governor of Arkansas
On Jan. 25, 2021, Huckabee Sanders announced her candidacy for Arkansas governor via a video on her Twitter account:
I'm in —> https://t.co/8bmfl3ZPgp
Watch ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/khDPEk0orU
— Sarah Huckabee Sanders (@SarahHuckabee) January 25, 2021
During her campaign, she focused on the state's traditional values such as respect for family and nature, as well as placing special emphasis on the fight against censorship and the indoctrination of woke ideology in schools. Her main stated objectives are to reduce government costs and taxes and to restore safety and order to the streets. In her campaign promotional video, she criticized sanctuary cities for "violating immigration laws" and described herself as a "Christian, wife, mother and proud Arkansan."
Her speech hit home with her fellow Arkansans and, in the midterm elections, Huckabee Sanders swept the board: she received nearly 70% support.
— Sarah Huckabee Sanders (@SarahHuckabee) November 9, 2022
On Jan. 10, 2023, she was sworn into office. Her term will run through January of 2027. She appeared before the state House of Representatives to share her first speech as governor.
This Tuesday, she will deliver another career-defining speech: the Republican Party's response to Biden at the State of the Union address.
