Sarah Huckabee Sanders

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Sarah Huckabee Sanders
Sarah Huckabee Sanders.jpg
Basic facts
Organization:Second Street Strategies
Role:Founding partner
Location:Little Rock, Ark.
Affiliation:Republican
Education:Ouachita Baptist University
Website:Official website
Sarah Huckabee Sanders is founding partner of Second Street Strategies in Little Rock, Arkansas.[1] She primarily works on national campaigns and on campaigns for federal office in Arkansas. In 2016, after managing Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign, she signed on as a senior advisor for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, handling the Trump campaign's communications for coalitions.[2][3]
  • Huckabee Sanders previously managed the 2016 presidential campaign of Mike Huckabee and worked as Huckabee's national political director in 2008.[4] She served as a senior advisor to Tim Pawlenty in his 2012 presidential run.[5]
  • She was also involved in the campaigns of both U.S. Senators from Arkansas, directing John Boozman's 2010 campaign and serving as an advisor to Tom Cotton's 2014 re-election.
  • Sanders is Huckabee's daughter and is married to Bryan Sanders, Huckabee's 2016 media consultant.[6]
  • Presidential election, 2016

    Huckabee Sanders began the 2016 presidential election as the campaign manager for Mike Huckabee, her father, focusing on Huckabee's record as governor of Arkansas. When Huckabee dropped out of the race, Huckabee Sanders joined the Trump campaign as an advisor. Her role was expanded in September 2016 to include outreach with coalitions.

    Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016

    See also: Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016

    On February 25, 2016, CNN reported that the Trump presidential campaign hired Huckabee Sanders as a senior advisor. In a statement reported in the story, Huckabee Sanders said the following:[7]

    More on Donald Trump's 2016 campaign staff
    Staff overview
    Trump staff overview

    Management and strategy

    Steve Bannon, Executive chairman
    Kellyanne Conway, Campaign manager
    David Bossie, Deputy campaign manager
    Michael Glassner, Deputy campaign manager
    Jim Murphy, National political director
    John Mashburn, Policy director


    Communications

    Hope Hicks, Communications director
    Jason Miller, Senior communications advisor
    Katrina Pierson, Campaign spokesperson


    Advisors

    Roger Stone, Informal advisor
    Sam Clovis, Co-chair and policy advisor
    Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Senior advisor
    Michael Biundo, Senior advisor


    "I volunteered to join Mr. Trump's campaign because he is a champion of working families; not Washington-Wall Street elites," she said in a statement. "What makes Mr. Trump my choice for president is he will break the grip of the donor class on our government and make it accountable to working families again."[8]

    On February 27, 2016, Huckabee Sanders spoke with CNN about Trump's appeal and his supporters. She said, "I keep hearing all these pundits and people from the media and other politicians talking about how bad Donald Trump is for America and, in particular, how bad people are that support Donald Trump. My thing is that they're not bad for America, they are America." CNN also noted, "Huckabee Sanders said Washington is being controlled by donors and special interests and believes Trump is the only presidential candidate who can go there and fix it."[9]

    Comments on women voters

    After winning the primary election in New York, Trump critiqued Hillary Clinton for her approach to campaigning. He said, "I think the only card she has is the women’s card. Frankly, if Hillary Clinton were a man, I don’t think she would get 5% of the vote."[10] In response to criticism over Trump's statement Huckabee Sanders told ABC News, "I think he [Trump] is pointing out something, frankly, Bernie Sanders' campaign has been talking about for months -- that Hillary Clinton's biggest thing that she's running on is the fact that she's a woman. ... The person that is playing the woman card is Hillary, not Donald Trump."[11]

    Role expansion

    According to The Hill, Huckabee Sanders' role expanded in September 2016 to involve communications for coalitions with the Trump campaign. The site reported that she would "still do on-air surrogate appearances, but [would] also be responsible for communications for coalitions for the Republican nominee's campaign."[3] Bloomberg reported that she would work specifically with "faith leaders, gun rights supporters, military groups, and other voter coalitions."[12]

    Mike Huckabee presidential campaign, 2016

    Huckabee Sanders and Alice Stewart speak with Bloomberg about a Mike Huckabee's then-potential run for president in January 2015
    See also: Mike Huckabee presidential campaign, 2016

    Huckabee Sanders was officially announced as campaign manager for Huckabee's campaign on May 7, 2015.[5] Of Huckabee's candidacy, she told CNN: "As my dad likes to say, 'We're at a great advantage because we've been through this before, and we're at a great disadvantage because we've been through this before.' He's going to have a bigger target on his back."[13] In September 2015, Huckabee Sanders told the Northeast Ohio Media Group that the Huckabee campaign was "focusing more on what Huckabee did as governor of Arkansas instead of his past as a Baptist preacher."[14]

    Huckabee suspended his presidential campaign on February 1, 2016, after receiving 1.8% of the votes in the Iowa caucuses.[15][16]

    Career

    Early career

    Huckabee Sanders initially served in government as a field coordinator for Mike Huckabee in his 2002 Arkansas gubernatorial re-election, as "a regional liaison for congressional affairs at the Department of Education" and as an Ohio field director for George W. Bush's 2004 presidential campaign.[17]

    In 2008, Huckabee Sanders worked as the national political director for Huckabee's presidential campaign, and, according to the campaign, directed the "Iowa campaign to a landslide upset victory in the Iowa caucuses."[4] A 2007 profile in Time magazine noted that Huckabee Sanders' time in the 2008 campaign was spent "working up to 90 hours a week, running her father's schedule and event briefings not only in Iowa but in South Carolina and New Hampshire; in addition, she oversees outreach and acts as her Dad's surrogate in Iowa."[18] USA Today noted that she advised her father "on everything from debate strategy to tie selection. Father and daughter became close, personally and politically, during regular Wednesday breakfasts while he was governor of Arkansas."[19] After Huckabee withdrew from the race, she became the director of Huck PAC, a political action committee that works "to promote conservative principles and help elect conservative candidates at every level of government."[20]

    Arkansas politics

    As campaign manager for John Boozman's (R-Ark.) 2010 U.S. Senate race, Huckabee Sanders worked to position Boozman's opponent as a "solid vote for President Obama" and Boozman as an alternative who "stands up to the Obama Administration’s reckless agenda."[21] During the campaign, Huckabee Sanders stood in for Boozman—who was then in the House of Representatives—in the first debate of the Republican primary. Huckabee Sanders insisted that Boozman was unavailable to debate himself because he was "in D.C. fighting against (the Senate health care bill)."[22]

    That year, she also married fellow campaign consultant Bryan Sanders, who she met during Mike Huckabee's 2008 presidential campaign in Iowa.[23] Huckabee Sanders was also named to Time magazine's "40 under 40" in 2010. She told the magazine that the most important issue to her was about family: "America needs more fathers taking an active role in their children's lives. Kids who are the victims of broken families are more likely to end up in poverty, rehab, or jail. I'm a Republican, but I respect President Obama for setting the right example and addressing this problem. I hope more people will join him in his efforts."[24]

    Huckabee Sanders in a video blog for the Pawlenty campaign in Iowa, July 2011

    Tim Pawlenty presidential campaign, 2012

    During the 2012 Republican presidential primary, Huckabee Sanders joined the campaign for Tim Pawlenty, focusing initially on Pawlenty's Iowa campaign. Of her decision to join Pawlenty's campaign, she said: "I’m delighted to join the Governor and First Lady in Iowa, which holds a special place in my heart … It’s clear to me that Gov. Pawlenty has what it takes to unite the party, unite the country and beat President Obama."[25] At the time of her hiring, in July 2011, Pawlenty was trailing in the Iowa polls. The Los Angeles Times noted that Huckabee Sanders "fits with Pawlenty’s current all-Iowa, all-the-time strategy" at that point in his campaign.[26]

    Consulting work

    In addition to her work on elections, Huckabee Sanders began as a full-time consultant at Tsamoutales Strategies in 2011 and became vice president of the group in January 2014.[27] While there, Huckabee Sanders worked with the ONE Campaign—founded by U2's Bono—as well as "several Fortune 500 companies," according to the company's website.[17] Huckabee Sanders left Tsamoutales Strategies in June 2015 and founded her own consulting firm, Second Street Strategies, in February 2016.[28]

    In May 2016, Huckabee Sanders signed on as a senior advisor to Missouri gubernatorial candidate John Brunner (R). At the time of her hiring, The Missouri Times reported that Huckabee Sanders would "serve as a senior advisor to the campaign, and will be guiding and executing the campaign’s strategy on Faith Voter Outreach."[29]

    Media

    Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaking on 2010 U.S. Senate campaign
    Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign, 2008
    Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaks with Arkansas journalist John Brummett, August 2015

    Recent news

    The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Sarah Huckabee Sanders. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles; they are included to provide readers with the most recent news articles on the subject. Click here to learn more about this section.

    Sarah Huckabee Sanders - Google News Feed

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    See also

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. Second Street Strategies, "About Us," accessed November 7, 2016
    2. Arkansas News, "Huckabee's daughter joins Trump team; Rubio to campaign with Hutchinson," February 25, 2016
    3. 3.0 3.1 The Hill, "Sarah Huckabee Sanders joining Trump's communications staff," September 4, 2016
    4. 4.0 4.1 P2016, "News Release: Gov. Huckabee announces national campaign team," May 7, 2015
    5. 5.0 5.1 The Hill, "Huckabee's daughter to run '16 campaign," May 7, 2015
    6. Time, "Huckabee Staff Picks Underline New Focus on Fundraising," May 7, 2015
    7. CNN, "Donald Trump hires Mike Huckabee's daughter as senior adviser," February 25, 2016
    8. Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributed to the original source.
    9. CNN, "Mike Huckabee's daughter: Negative tone in GOP race helps Clinton," February 27, 2016
    10. Time, "Trump and Clinton Battle Over ‘Woman Card’ Criticism," April 27, 2016
    11. ABC News, "Clinton, Not Trump, Playing 'Woman Card,' Says Trump Senior Adviser," May 1, 2016
    12. Bloomberg, "Trump Camp Optimistic Minority Outreach Efforts Will Be Effective," September 6, 2016
    13. CNN, "Mike Huckabee running for another White House bid," May 5, 2015
    14. Northeast Ohio Media Group, "Mike Huckabee's top staffers reveal their new campaign strategy: Mike Huckabee in the news," September 14, 2015
    15. CNN, "Iowa Results," February 1, 2016
    16. USA Today, "Huckabee ends GOP presidential bid," February 1, 2016
    17. 17.0 17.1 Tsamoutales Strategies, "Leadership," archived May 26, 2015
    18. Time, "Huckabee's Family Field General," December 11, 2007
    19. USA Today, "Candidates see relatives as trustworthy operatives," July 14, 2007
    20. Huck PAC, "About," accessed May 28, 2015
    21. Boozman for Arkansas, "U.S. Senate Debate Preview," October 13, 2010
    22. Politico, "Sarah Huckabee debates," March 17, 2010
    23. Campaigns and Elections, "Bryan Sanders, 27, Republican," accessed March 1, 2016
    24. Time, "Sarah Huckabee," accessed March 1, 2016
    25. Politico, "Sarah Huckabee Sanders joins Tim Pawlenty," July 5, 2011
    26. Los Angeles Times, "Pawlenty seeks to capture some Huckabee magic," July 5, 2011
    27. Sunshine State News, "Mike Haridopolos and Sarah Huckabee Sanders Have New Jobs," January 21, 2014
    28. David Borman, "Email communication with Sarah Huckabee Sanders," November 7, 2016]
    29. The Missouri Times, "Sarah Huckabee Sanders joins Brunner campaign as senior advisor," May 31, 2016