Former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders easily defeated former talk radio host Francis "Doc" Washburn Tuesday night in the GOP primary for Arkansas governor, 83 percent to 16.9 percent.
Sanders was endorsed by former President Trump early in the race for the seat term-limited Gov. Asa Hutchinson currently holds.
“Sarah Huckabee Sanders is a warrior who will always fight for the people of Arkansas and do what is right, not what is politically correct,” Trump said in his endorsement.
Hutchinson also endorsed her: “I’ve known Sarah Huckabee Sanders most of her life and know firsthand her love for our state and her heart for public service,” he said. “Sarah has earned the Republican nomination and I’m delighted today to endorse her for Governor. The state of Arkansas will be in good hands with Sarah as Governor, and she has my full support.”
If she wins, Sanders would not only follow her father’s footsteps in leading the state, she’d also be the first female governor in the state’s history.
Sanders will face off against Democrat Chris Jones, a nuclear engineer and Baptist minister. If he wins, he’d be the state’s first black governor.
Strategists argue the race is a foregone conclusion, however.
"The only thing that could stop Sarah Sanders from being governor of Arkansas is a Martian invasion," Arkansas Republican strategist Bill Vickery said before the primary, reports CNN.
"She's been an unstoppable force the whole time,"Janine Parry, a political science professor at the University of Arkansas, told CNN. "She's a masterful campaigner. We really don't know much about her public policy positions, at least at the state level, but of course in this climate that really doesn't matter."