Live Results: Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders defeats Democrat Chris Jones in Arkansas' gubernatorial election
- Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders ran against Democrat Chris Jones in Arkansas' gubernatorial race.
- Sanders, a former Trump administration official, is the daughter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders defeated Democrat Chris Jones in Arkansas' gubernatorial election, becoming the state's first elected woman governor.
Republican incumbent Asa Hutchinson was unable to run for reelection due to term limits.
Arkansas' gubernatorial candidates
Sanders is the daughter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and formerly served as press secretary in Trump's White House. She first started working for Trump in 2016 as a senior advisor during his presidential campaign.
Sanders has worked on various campaigns throughout her political career, including Sen. Tom Cotton's, Sen. John Boozman's, and also her father's.
Jones, Sanders' opponent, is a nuclear engineer with a Ph.D. in urban planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He defeated Anthony Bland and three other opponents in the Democratic primary, receiving over 70% of the vote.
Arkansas' voting history
Arkansas backed former President Donald Trump over President Joe Biden with a nearly 28 percentage point margin of victory in 2020. Since 1972, the state has sided with Republicans in 10 of 13 presidential elections, and in recent elections has become decidedly red, with the Republican margin of victory increasing in each of the last five elections.
What experts say
The race between Sanders and Jones was rated as "solid Republican" by Inside Elections, "solid Republican" by The Cook Political Report, and "safe Republican" by Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.