Sarah Huckabee Sanders announces run for governor of Arkansas

Sarah Huckabee Sanders is running for governor of Arkansas in the 2022 election, CBS News has confirmed. She announced her campaign in a video posted to her Twitter account Monday.

In the nearly eight-minute-long announcement, Sanders highlighted her tenure serving as White House press secretary under former President Donald Trump and called for an end to violence and return to peaceful protest.

"With the radical left now in control of Washington, your governor is your last line of defense. In fact, your governor must be on the front line. So today I announce my candidacy for governor of Arkansas," Sanders said. "As governor, I will defend our right to be free of socialism and tyranny, your Second Amendment right to keep your family safe and your freedom of speech and religious liberty. Our state needs a leader with the courage to do what's right, not what's political correct or convenient."

The current Republican governor, Asa Hutchinson, cannot run again due to term limits.

Sanders, the daughter of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, became a household name while working as part of the Trump White House communications team. She initially served as deputy White House press secretary before taking over as press secretary after Sean Spicer resigned. Known publicly for her adversarial relationship with the press, she privately had a good relationship with many reporters.

When she left the administration in June 2019, she had not given a press briefing in over 100 days. She tweeted at the time that she was leaving with her "head held high."

Sanders served as press secretary for two years. Her successor, Stephanie Grisham, left after 10 months without holding a single press briefing. Sanders, one of original Trump White House staffers, called working for Mr. Trump the "opportunity of a lifetime."