Sarah Huckabee Sanders' Evolution From Childhood To Arkansas Governor

Maybe the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. Former White House press secretary and daughter of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Sarah Huckabee Sanders landed squarely back in the midst of headlines everywhere after announcing her run for Arkansas governor in January 2021.

Huckabee Sanders announced her bid in an almost eight-minute-long video wherein she touted her time as former President Donald Trump's press secretary, famously replacing her predecessor, Sean Spicer. "I took on the media, the radical left, and their 'cancel culture,' and I won," she boasted about her time at the White House (via The Washington Post). "As governor, I will be your voice, and never let them silence you," she declared emphatically.

But has she always had her eye on the governor's seat — the same one in which her father, Mike Huckabee, used to hold?

As a child, Sarah Huckabee Sanders spent many late nights going over poll results with her famous father, Mike Huckabee, and his political consultant. "Looking back, that was probably not the most normal thing in the world," she told The New York Times.

Later on, she pitched in as her father snagged a win in the 2008 Iowa caucus — definitely no small feat. She also lent her dear old dad a helping hand, serving as his manager in 2016 when he announced his bid for the presidency. Though the run proved to be short, we imagine that the experience was invaluable. "That didn't go so well," she joked to the Times about the defunct campaign. 

While her father never made it to the White House, it is possible that all of her childhood and early life experiences helped groom her for a life in politics, and specifically a run for Arkansas governor. As they say: like father, like daughter.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders is perhaps most widely known as the daughter of Baptist minister turned politician and presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee. While she may have embarked on her own political career, she was careful to not leave behind the religious values and ideals that her famous father instilled in her. At times, that appeared hard to do when she took on the role of White House press secretary to Donald Trump.

As she told The New York Times, Huckabee Sanders is adamant that she didn't always agree with the commander-in-chief. "I certainly didn't approve of a couple of the comments," she confessed during an August 2017 interview. "But at the same time, we were looking for a commander-in-chief, not a pastor."  Still, she was careful to defend her superior. "Oftentimes, people want to make politicians perfect," she continued. "And that's one of the actual beauties of Christianity, is understanding that no one is."

Sarah Huckabee Sanders made history when she became the first mother to hold the position of White House press secretary. Huckabee Sanders had to do some major shifting of the family calendar to accommodate her roles as mother of three young children and No. 1 defender of Donald Trump. It's reported that she started her days bright and early, waking up at 5 a.m. in an effort to spend time with her three kiddos and even converse with her father about the goings-on of her day, as she told The New York Times. It should be noted, however, that later Huckabee Sanders cited wanting to spend more time with her children as the reason for her resignation from the same position.

During her time serving as press secretary, Huckabee Sanders often drew criticism for what some perceived as a tendency to lean on her personal anecdotes as a mother to appeal to the masses. "I don't want to hear anymore about the chaos in her home," White House correspondent for The Sentinel, Brian Karem, famously said (via Politico) about his interactions with Huckabee Sanders. "If she tells me one more story about how three preschoolers can be more chaotic than a hundred and some odd reporters in the White House press office, I'll even volunteer to babysit," he added. When asked about the judgment, Huckabee Sanders just shrugged it off. "That's just kind of who I am," she said.

On the heels of her departure from the White House, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, along with Fox News, announced that she would be joining the team as a contributor. "Fox News has been the number one news organization in the country for 17 years running and I am beyond proud to join their incredible stable of on-air contributors in providing political insights and analysis," Sanders penned in a statement released in August 2019, as reported by Deadline.

Were many surprised at the pivot in her career? Well, not exactly. In a piece for The New York Times, business reporter Niraj Chokshi wrote that Huckabee Sanders' move to Fox News bolstered "the strong ties between the conservative cable network and the Trump administration." He also penned that "the path from White House spokesperson to television news" was "well worn" and provided heavy-hitters George Stephanopoulos and Jay Carney as examples of his theory.

Upon resigning from her position as the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders left with only well wishes from Donald Trump. He applauded Huckabee Sanders for a job well done in front of a crowd in the White House by saying, "We've been through a lot together. She's tough and she's good (via The New York Times). "She's a warrior," he added before bestowing her with a smooch on the side of her head.

But even after sending her off, Trump took it one step further when he publicly encouraged her to run for Arkansas governor. "She is a very special person with extraordinary talents, who has done an incredible job!" Trump tweeted. "I hope she decides to run for governor of Arkansas — she would be fantastic. Sarah, thank you for a job well done!"

She took on the president's suggestion, and Trump couldn't have been happier. After Huckabee Sanders threw her hat in the ring, Trump publicly endorsed her bid for Arkansas governor. "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. Sarah is strong on Borders, tough on Crime, and fully supports the Second Amendment and our great law enforcement officers," he penned in a statement (via Politico).

Sarah Huckabee Sanders suffered a major health scare in 2022 when she discovered she had thyroid cancer. Luckily, within a month, the politician had undergone surgery to remove the thyroid and lymph nodes that surrounded it. "By the grace of God I am now cancer-free," she declared in a press statement (via CNN) following the successful operation at an Arkansas hospital.

John R. Sims, the surgeon who carried out the procedure, told the media that he expected Sanders to be up and about within the space of a day. "This is a Stage I papillary thyroid carcinoma which is the most common type of thyroid cancer and has an excellent prognosis," he added. "While she will need adjuvant treatment with radioactive iodine, as well as continued long-term follow-up, I think it's fair to say she's now cancer-free, and I don't anticipate any of this slowing her down."

Judd Deere, the communications director for Sanders' gubernatorial campaign, also confirmed that the patient was doing well and expressed gratitude for both the medical care she'd received, adding, "Sarah and her entire family are appreciative of the prayers and well-wishes from Arkansans and many friends from across the country." However, concerns for the governor's health continue to arise among the public. Sarah Huckabee Sanders' eyes have everyone wondering about thyroid eye disease.

Following in her father's footsteps, Sarah Huckabee Sanders was elected governor of Arkansas in 2022, making her the first woman to hold such a position in the state's history. Although she was criticized for largely snubbing the mainstream media and for ignoring local concerns in her campaign, she comfortably beat Democratic challenger Chris Jones with a near 63% share of the vote.

Two months later, Sanders vowed to make Arkansas great again when she was inaugurated as its 47th governor, promising improvements in schools, streets, employment, and family values during a speech which lasted 15 minutes. "The people of Arkansas, in their vast wisdom, have entrusted a new generation to lead," she said (via Associated Press). "This is our moment. This is our opportunity."

The Little Rock native, whose father Mike Huckabee served as governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007, didn't waste any time seizing the opportunity, either. Soon after first addressing her new public, she put her name to no fewer than seven different executive orders.

A few months after being elected as the 47th governor of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders achieved a major win when she pushed through her controversial education bill, the LEARNS Act, into law. And as you'd expect, Donald Trump's former White House press secretary wasn't exactly modest about the legislative victory.

"I am not interested in being a caretaker of the failed status quo," she tweeted shortly before officially putting her signature to the approved voucher program. "Today, I am delivering on that promise, and will sign into law my transformational education plan, unleashing a new era of freedom, opportunity, and prosperity for all." Sanders gathered backing from many for her "Education Freedom Accounts" system in which taxpayers can choose to fund students rather than schools, in turn shifting public finances to the private sector.

But not everyone was so enthusiastic about the Act which promised to radically change the nature of children's education. This included preventing the teachings of everything from sexual reproduction and orientation to gender identity until at least the fifth grade and a blanket ban on ideologies like Critical Race Theory which Sanders believes is a form of indoctrination. Indeed, over 1,000 students at the politician's alma mater, Little Rock Central High School, left their classrooms in a mass protest against the bill.

Who knew that a single lectern could cause so much trouble? In 2023, the 47th Governor of Arkansas Sarah Huckabee Sanders and her office were accused of financial impropriety following the purchase of a standing reading desk which was said to have broken numerous state laws.

The offending piece of furniture, which cost a whopping $19,000, was thrust into the national spotlight thanks to an inquisitive attorney from Sanders' Little Rock hometown. Matt Campbell discovered that the lectern had been bought with a state-issued credit card from a local event planning firm who had close ties to the former White House press secretary and revealed all on his progressive blog. Following criticism from a Republican state senator, a month-long audit was carried out which discovered that there may have been several violations.

Luckily for Sanders and her staff, who described the probe as a "waste of taxpayer resources and time" (via ABC News), the matter wasn't taken any further. Indeed, in June 2024, Will Jones, a prosecuting attorney, revealed in a letter (via Arkansas Advocate) that, "After a thorough review of the report and supporting documents, we find that criminal charges are not warranted."

Sarah Huckabee Sanders didn't exactly cover herself in glory when she shamed her former boss' presidential rival for not being a biological mother. "My kids keep me humble," she declared (via NBC News) at a town hall meeting ahead of the 2024 election. "Unfortunately, Kamala Harris doesn't have anything keeping her humble."

Unsurprisingly, the object of Sanders' apparent disdain didn't take this lying down. While appearing on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, Harris told host Alex Cooper that the governor of Arkansas' comments were offensive on so many levels. "I don't think she understands that there are a whole lot of women out here who, one, are not aspiring to be humble. Two, a whole lot of women out here who have a lot of love in their life, family in their life and children in their life, and I think it's really important for women to lift each other up."

Harris also noted how family can be related by love as well as blood before referring to her role as a stepmother — her husband, Doug Emhoff, has two kids from a previous marriage. An unrepentant Sanders answered back in a press statement by saying, "The point I was making and that Kamala Harris confirmed by her own admission is that she doesn't believe our leaders should be humble, which explains her arrogant claim that she alone can fix our nation's problems after spending the last four years making them worse."

"Sarah Huckabee Sanders debuts stunning new look" declared The Sun. "Sarah Huckabee Sanders' weight loss transformation is head-turning," remarked Women.com. These are just some of the headlines that have emerged since the former White House press secretary showed off a different side of herself in 2025. It's been an interesting sight to see, since the Arkansas governor has worn too many outfits over the years that just didn't work.

Indeed, her physical transformation was so notable that many questioned whether Sarah Huckabee Sanders had jumped aboard the Ozempic bandwagon, too. But let's not forget that the politician had also suffered a major health scare in 2022 and that she's always been an advocate for healthy eating, even calling for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to remove junk food from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Of course, Sanders was already used to having strangers comment on her appearance, although unfortunately in less flattering ways. "Nothing was off-limits to the angriest Trump haters: my character, my weight and appearance, even my fitness to be a mother," she wrote in her memoir, "Speaking for Myself: Faith, Freedom, and the Fight of Our Lives Inside the Trump White House." It's true, Sarah Huckabee Sanders can't escape the harsh nicknames she's been saddled with by the public.

If there's one thing that Sarah Huckabee Sanders doesn't like, it's "wokeness." Since being elected as the 47th governor of Arkansas in 2022, the former White House press secretary has made it her mission to eradicate anything that could be perceived as promoting equality, inclusivity, or just general compassion.

Take her determination to fire any college lecturers who dare to stray from the straight, white man narrative, for example. "Arkansas students go to our colleges and universities to be educated, not to be bombarded with anti-American, historically illiterate woke nonsense," Sanders said (via Associated Press) during her first state of address of 2025. "We will make it so that any professor, tenured or not, that wastes time indoctrinating our students instead of educating them can be terminated from their job."

Two years earlier, Sanders signed an executive order which prohibited certain gender-neutral terms like "birth giver," "human milk," and "pregnant people" from being used in official government papers despite the fact there'd only ever previously been a single example. "Does it matter if there's one?" she reasoned at another public address (via NPR). "Is that not enough? How many times should a woman have to be insulted before we stand up and say 'We've had it?'" The politician had also put her name to a bill banning the term "Latinx," too.

As well as radicalizing the education system and battling wokeness, Sarah Huckabee Sanders has also found the time to take on Big Pharma in her role as the 47th governor of Arkansas. Indeed, in 2025, she put her name to a law which prohibited three major firms — CVS, UnitedHealthcare, and Cigna — from operating in the state.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Sanders insisted that the legislation was vital as many residents found it difficult to obtain their necessary medications from the aforementioned organizations. "In some cases, it can be life threatening," she said. "When they get to own both sides of the negotiation then the consumers are the ones who lose. PBMs have shown they care more about their bottom line and less about the people they are supposed to serve."

Of course, this didn't go down too well with the three companies targeted, all of whom filed district court lawsuits to prevent the law going into action and cause a knock-on effect across the rest of the country. "If [Arkansas] prevails, I think a lot of states will follow suit," Utah pharmacist Benjamin Jolley argued before adding that if it loses, "there will be a lot of pressure on congress to pass something similar."

In November 2025, Sarah Huckabee Sanders posted on Facebook that she intended to run for re-election in 2026. "It's an honor to serve as the Governor of the greatest state in the nation, and I look forward to continuing our mission of taking Arkansas to the top," she penned. And just like she did in 2022, Sanders had some pretty high profiles backing her, too.

"Sarah Huckabee Sanders has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election — SHE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!" came the typically vociferous pledge of support from her former boss, Donald Trump, on his own social media platform, Truth Social. The ex-White House press secretary expressed her gratitude for the co-sign, too, tweeting back, "Thank you @realDonaldTrump! It's an honor to have your endorsement, and Arkansas stands with you in the fight to Make America Great Again!"