Trumpism tested as Sarah Huckabee Sanders runs for Arkansas governor

Former Trump White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced on Monday that she is running for governor of Arkansas.

Ms Sanders, the daughter of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, announced the news in an eight-minute video posted to social media.

“I'm in,” the 38-year-old said in a tweet, which included a link to her campaign website.

In announcing her run in her home state's 2022 election, Ms Sanders became the first high-profile Trump administration official to seek office since former president Donald Trump was defeated in November.

“America is great because we are free, but today, our freedom and the rule of law are under attack,” Ms Sanders says in the video.

“This is not who we are as Americans. To remain free, we must have law and order and resolve our differences peacefully.”

Ms Sanders's run comes after Republican losses in last year's general election and a double win for Democrats in the Georgia Senate run-offs this month.

It also comes before Mr Trump's impeachment trial and amid Republican soul-searching over the pro-Trump mob that stormed the US Capitol on January 6.

Still, Mr Trump remains popular in Arkansas and he won the state handily in November.

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Ms Sanders features her former boss prominently in the video and hammers a law-and-order message but only fleetingly refers to the assault on Congress.

“I was the first White House press secretary to require Secret Service protection because of a credible, violent threat against me,” she says in the video.

“We’ve seen violence in our streets, at a congressional baseball practice and at our Capitol.”

Ms Sanders left her White House job in 2019 to return to her home state and was widely expected to run for the office.

She joins a primary field that already includes two elected leaders, Lt Gov Tim Griffin and Attorney General Leslie Rutledge.

No Democrat has yet announced a bid to run for the seat.

As Mr Trump's spokeswoman, Ms Sanders frequently sparred with reporters, who grilled her on White House policy and links between the administration and Russia.

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Employment lawyer Meriel Schindler of Withers Worldwide shares her tips on achieving equal pay

Do your homework
Make sure that you are being offered a fair salary. There is lots of industry data available, and you can always talk to people who have come out of the organisation. Where I see people coming a cropper is where they haven’t done their homework.

Don’t be afraid to negotiate
It’s quite standard to negotiate if you think an offer is on the low side. The job is unlikely to be withdrawn if you ask for money, and if that did happen I’d question whether you want to work for an employer who is so hypersensitive.

Know your worth
Women tend to be a bit more reticent to talk about their achievements. In my experience they need to have more confidence in their own abilities – men will big up what they’ve done to get a pay rise, and to compete women need to turn up the volume.

Work together
If you suspect men in your organisation are being paid more, look your boss in the eye and say, “I want you to assure me that I’m paid equivalent to my peers”. If you’re not getting a straight answer, talk to your peer group and consider taking direct action to fix inequality.