WASHINGTON — As Republicans assess a bruising midterm defeat, many are looking to Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders for a potential roadmap to rebuilding the party.
Sanders defeated Democratic challenger Fred Love by double digits, even as other Republican strongholds fell amid a broader Democratic wave. She also prevailed while maintaining her longstanding alliance with President Trump.
“I had one of the largest margins of victory of any Republican in the country — won by 15 points — so a very clear, decisive win,” Sanders told The Post in an interview this week.
She credits that victory to an emphasis on kitchen-table concerns in a state that ranks 47th nationally in per capita income.
“We’ve cut taxes four times, knocked 25% off the state income tax, returned a billion and a half dollars back to the people of our state. And so I think it wasn’t just, oh, you’re in a red state, but we delivered on things that make a difference in the day-to-day lives of the people in our state,” she said.
“We’ve really focused on not just talking about what we’ve done but showing it,” Sanders said while visiting New York to promote her new book, “Unapologetic: Clarity and Conviction in a World Gone Crazy.”
The former White House press secretary, who has advised Trump on messaging, has repeatedly used high-profile moments — including her 2023 response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address — to draw a contrast between what she describes as “normal” ideas and Democratic policies she labels “crazy.”
It is a message Trump has embraced, and Sanders believes Republicans could bring it back as they prepare to confront a Democratic-controlled Congress.
“As Democrats step in, I think you’re about to see a lot of crazy. Just listen to what they’re saying … I could be wrong, but I think they’re going to give us a reason to say, ‘Yeah, they’re crazy.’”
Sanders said her administration has prioritized education and access to health care while vowing not to give in to the “radical left.” She points to state investments in paid maternity leave, teacher incentive bonuses, improving test scores and school choice. She also continues to call the Iran war the “right decision,” while acknowledging that it affected the election.
Her argument goes beyond directing more money toward teachers.
“We have to remember that we’re the party that wants to remove regulation, remove barriers. That we are the party that pushes for individual freedom and individual responsibility. Those two things go hand in hand and it can’t be one or the other,” she said.
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Sanders also defended her campaign’s decision to air a television ad centered on a welfare recipient named “Brad.” The spot depicts a Gen Z gamer goofing off while receiving benefits and promotes welfare work requirements — an issue also championed by another well-known Arkansan, Bill Clinton, during the 1990s.
She dismissed Republican criticism of the ad as “manufactured outrage” and said that “if you are young, able-bodied, and capable of working, you should.”
Sanders reported spending $1.4 million in September, compared with just $24,000 spent by Love, an Arkansas state senator. She won 54% to 39%, while Libertarian Colt Shelby received 8% of the vote.
Asked about Republican losses elsewhere, Sanders said Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton damaged candidates farther down the ballot. In Arkansas, Sanders and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) both won reelection. Cotton defeated Democrat Hallie Shoffner, 51% to 42%.
“When you have such a divided top of the ticket, it impacts everything else,” she said.
Sanders defended the president’s decision to attack Iran, despite polling that indicated the move contributed to the Republican shellacking.
“I think the president is right to stand up for our allies, to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon, and to punch the bully in the mouth,” said Sanders, who has been discussed as a potential presidential or vice presidential contender.
Sanders, whose term runs through 2030, said Vice President JD Vance was the Republican front-runner “without a question.”
She was more guarded when asked whether she might seek a return to the White House she once served in by running for president.
“I just won re-election. I think that it is a mistake to immediately rush to what’s next,” she said.
“I love my job, I like what I do, and I think we’re doing really good work in my state and I’m hopeful that I get to keep it for four years. So I want to keep doing what I’m doing and continue to lead in places and on things I think we’re making a big difference.”
