Sarah Huckabee Sanders raises $1 million in four days after announcing run for Arkansas governor

Ms Huckabee Sanders’ campaign was said to have received donations from all of the state’s 75 counties

Sarah Huckabee Sanders has raised $1m in four days. (AP)

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the former White House press secretary for Donald Trump, raised more than $4 million (£2.9 million) in the four days after she announced her run for Arkansas governor.

She announced her run on Monday with a nearly eight-minute video that embraced the former president, whose second impeachment trial starts on 8 February. Mr Trump is accused of inciting the riot at the US Capitol on 6 January, in which five people were killed.

Ms Huckabee Sanders’ campaign was said to have received donations from all of the state’s 75 counties, but no further details were provided on Thursday.

The fundraising haul shows how much more expensive the 2022 Republican race for Arkansas governor will become with Ms Huckabee Sanders in contention, with her four days-worth of donations surpassing those of her competitors.

Tim Griffin, the lieutenant governor, has raised $1.8 million (£1.3 million) since March, and Arkansas’ attorney general Leslie Rutledge has raised $1 million (£727,535) since July.

So far, no Democrats have announced a run for governor, with the three Republican candidates bidding to succeed governor Asa Hutchinson, who is barred by term limits from seeking re-election next year.

Arkansas is a solidly red state, with Republicans holding all its statewide and federal offices.

Mr Trump endorsed Ms Sanders’ candidacy on Monday night. He won the state with 62.4 per cent of the vote in November’s presidential contest.  

Ms Sanders was publicly encouraged by Mr Trump to run for Arkansas governor after she left the White House in 2019 and returned to her home state.

She is the daughter of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.

Additional reporting by the Associated Press.