Politics runs in Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ family

A thirst for politics appears to run in the family, with Sanders being just 13 years old when her father Mike Huckabee became governor of Arkansas. He held the position for more than a decade.

Per People, Kathleen Sebelius and her father John J. Gilligan are the only other father-daughter team to have both led states, with Sebelius being the governor of Kansas from 2003 to 2009, and her father governor of Ohio from 1971 to 1975.

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Sanders has remained steadfast in her support of her parents, saying during her first speech as governor that they taught her “principled leadership”.

Although she’s relied on her father’s reputation, her battles as White House Press Secretary saw her relationship with the media decline. The New York Times wrote that her “confrontations with reporters escalated even beyond the norm”, describing how she tried to have a reporter’s White House pass suspended. Sanders also famously did not hold the daily press briefing for 94 days, a long-standing tradition where the press secretary would address the world. When she left office in 2019, many applauded the decision.

Her battle with cancer

In 2022, Sanders was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Per Arkansas Online, cancer runs in the family, with her mother Janet being diagnosed with cancer in the spine at 20 years old.

Surgeon John R. Sims told CNN that Sanders had been lucky to be diagnosed with a “stage I papillary thyroid carcinoma, which is the most common type of thyroid cancer and has an excellent prognosis”.

Expressing gratitude after her successful operation, Sanders said she was cancer-free “by the grace of God”, per the same publication.

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Her weight-loss journey

Although Sanders hasn’t said much about her weight-loss journey, her appearance has always been a subject of conversation. Pulitzer-winning columnist David Horsey famously spoke about her weight in a column for the Los Angeles Times in 2017 – and later apologised.

After her cancer surgery, Sanders’ transformation has been clear for the world to witness, with Total Shape reporting that she focused on exercise and diet.

She detailed how she was a target for Trump haters in her 2020 book, Speaking for Myself: “In the raging battle between the president and the media, I often felt like I was on the front lines in no man’s land. Nothing was off-limits to the angriest Trump haters: my character, my weight and appearance, even my fitness to be a mother.”

She’s a wife and mother

Sanders has three children with her husband, Bryan: Scarlett, Huck and George. She married Bryan in 2010 and promotes a “white picket fence” kind of life, with golden retriever, Traveler, as part of their family too.

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Sarah and her family are Christians and the politician has been outspoken about her faith.

Known as “the first gentleman of Arkansas”, Bryan is also a political magnate through and through. He was working on his now father-in-law’s political campaign back in 2007 when he met his then future wife, according to the Arkansas Governor website. He has since developed a career doing polling and TV advertising for high-placed Republican politicians.