Donald Trump has endorsed former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders in her bid to become governor of Arkansas.
Sanders announced she was running for this position, formerly held by her father Mike Huckabee, on Monday.
After publicizing her intent, she later shared an endorsement from the ex-president.
"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," this read.
"Sarah is strong on Borders, tough on Crime, and fully supports the Second Amendment and our great law enforcement officers.
"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."
Trump had previously tipped Sanders to run for governor when she left her position as White House press secretary.
"If we can get her to run for the governor of Arkansas, I think she'll do very well. I'm trying to get her to do that," he said in June 2019, as he spoke of her departure.
Sanders remained an ardent supporter of the president following her departure from her White House role. Trump's endorsement comes after the state of Arkansas overwhelmingly backed him in the 2020 presidential election. Though the president lost overall, the state was one in which his support remained strong.
Sharing Trump's endorsement on Twitter, Sanders wrote: "Thank you President Trump for your endorsement and for always believing in me. As governor I will defend our freedom and lead with heart."
Thank you President Trump for your endorsement and for always believing in me. As governor I will defend our freedom and lead with heart pic.twitter.com/QFtyuNpSm1
— Sarah Huckabee Sanders (@SarahHuckabee) January 26, 2021
On her website, Sanders is described as "a trusted confidant" of the former president.
Sanders shared a roughly eight-minute long video detailing her plan to run and outlining her platform on Monday.
The Arkansas gubernatorial election is set for 2022 and the state's current governor Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, cannot run again due to term limits.
In her video, Sanders spoke along similar lines to her former boss Trump, such as criticizing what she branded the "radical left."
"I took on the media, the radical left, and their cancel culture," she said of her time as White House press secretary.
Newsweek has contacted her campaign for further comment on the endorsement.
