Arkansas Lieutenant Governor Tim Griffin, a Republican, dropped out of the governor race just two weeks after Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced his candidacy.
“Since I announced my campaign for governor last year, I have been impressed by the incredible support I have received from every corner of the state,” said Griffin in a statement on Monday. “While I believe that Arkansas residents are ready for my message of conservative and bold leadership, my conversations with friends and supporters have persuaded me that I can do more for Arkansas in a different role right now.”
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“Today I’m announcing my campaign for Arkansas Attorney General. We need an attorney general who supports law enforcement, defends law and order by cracking down on crime and corruption and fighting the liberal agenda of the Biden / Harris administration in court, “He continued.
On this January 16, 2015, Arkansas Lieutenant Governor Tim Griffin is interviewed at his office at the Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock, Arkansas.
(AP Photo / Danny Johnston, Archive)
Sanders wished Griffin luck after he made the announcement.
“Tim Griffin has been a strong voice in Arkansas and I look forward to working with him to unite our party and make our state better. I wish Tim and his family the best,” she wrote in Twitter.
Former President Trump endorsed Sanders shortly after his announcement, saying she “will always fight” for the people of the state and “will do what is right”.
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“Sarah is strong at Borders, lasts in Crime and fully supports the Second Amendment and our great police,” Trump said in a statement. “Sarah will be a GREAT governor and she has my full and complete endorsement!”
On this Monday, March 11, 2019, archival photo, then White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaks during a press conference.
(AP Photo / Evan Vucci, Archive)
Griffin has been vice governor since 2014.
Sanders plans to replace current Republican Party governor, Asa Hutchinson, who is restricted by term limits from running for reelection next year. Current Arkansas attorney general Leslie Rutledge is still in the running. Rutledge is a Republican and is in her second term as state attorney general.
“Tim Griffin is a staunch supporter of Arkansas’s conservative values - our army, law enforcement and the rule of law. Having been the Attorney General for over 6 years, I personally know the importance of the role in which every decision I make affects 3 million Arkansans daily and the huge responsibility I have to proactively protect and defend our constitutional rights against the aggressive liberal agenda of the Biden-Harris administration, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, “said Rutledge in a declaration on Monday. “I wish Tim and his family the best.”
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David Aaro and Yael Halon of Fox News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.