Sarah Huckabee Sanders endorses Trump in 2024 race

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Monday endorsed former President Trump in his bid for a second White House term, throwing her support behind her onetime boss ahead of this week’s GOP primary debate.

“It’s not a question between right versus left anymore. It’s normal versus crazy, and President Biden and the left are doubling down on crazy,” Sanders, who previously served as Trump’s White House press secretary, said in a statement.

“The time has come to return to the normal policies of the Trump era which created a safer, stronger, and more prosperous America, and that’s why I am proud to endorse Donald Trump for President,” Sanders added.

In a separate statement, Trump called it “an honor to have Sarah’s endorsement.”

Sanders is expected to attend Trump’s rally Wednesday in Hialeah, Fla., which will take place at the same time as the GOP primary debate up the road in Miami.

Sanders was elected governor in 2022, becoming the first woman to serve in the role in Arkansas. She delivered the Republican response to President Biden’s State of the Union speech earlier this year.

The endorsement is hardly a surprise given that Sanders worked in the Trump White House and has remained on good terms with the former president. But her backing underscores the support Trump has racked up among lawmakers in Congress and at the state level, further cementing his hold on the Republican Party.

Trump is leading his GOP primary rivals by a wide margin in both state and national polls with the Iowa caucuses roughly two months away. A Quinnipiac University poll conducted in late October found Trump leading Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), his next closest challenger, by 49 percentage points.