She had been favoured to beat Democrat Chris Jones in the southern state that her father, who ran twice for the Republican presidential nomination, governed from 1996 to 2007.

Sanders, 40, ran a campaign that lambasted President Joe Biden, a moderate Democrat, as “radical,” and like Republicans across the country, hammered Democrats on issues including inflation, border policies and crime.

She said she was “ready to join the coalition of strong conservative governors defending our freedom and empowering our people.”

As top spokesman at the Trump White House, Sanders was routinely criticised for perpetuating untruths when answering journalists’ questions.

A mother of three children, Sanders frequently discussed her family and religious faith while working in the press room.

When she departed the post in 2019, Trump praised her as a “warrior,” and later said she would be “fantastic” as Arkansas governor.