Sarah Huckabee Sanders wins Arkansas governor’s mansion

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a White House press secretary in the Trump administration, is projected to be Arkansas’s next governor, winning the solidly red seat over Democrat Chris Jones and becoming the state’s first female governor.

The Associated Press called the race at 8:30 p.m.

Sanders has worked in Arkansas Republican politics for decades, serving on the campaigns of her father, Mike Huckabee, who served as the state’s governor from 1996 to 2007.

She spent almost two years in the Trump White House, serving as the face of the administration and one of the former president’s closest aides.

Sanders will succeed Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R), who has served in the role since 2015 but was barred by term limits from running again.