The CPAC Foundation, known for its annual ratings of state and federal lawmakers, has expanded into ranking governors and chose Arkansas’s Sarah Huckabee Sanders as its first “best.”
In choosing the first-term governor and former Trump White House spokeswoman, CPAC gave Huckabee Sanders a lifetime score of 95 out of 100 on several key financial and social issues facing her state.
“CPAC set out to determine which governors have best answered the call to defend their state from woke socialism and fight for economic prosperity,” CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp said. “We are proud to recognize the governors who have best fought for conservative values.”
Huckabee Sanders said, “I’m proud to receive recognition as the top conservative governor in the country. When I ran for this office, I promised to make Arkansas a national leader in education reform, tax cuts, and bold conservative leadership. As this award shows, we are making Arkansas a model for conservative states around the country.”
As governor, Huckabee Sanders has governed with an aggressive conservatism that has been fairly popular in the state, in which she has a 50% approval rating. Her CPAC rating this year is 96.3.
A total of 11 governors, all Republicans, hit the required 80% to win the CPAC Foundation’s Award for Conservative Leadership, according to the list and report provided to Secrets.
Those 11 are:
1. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders at 96.3%.
2. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry at 94.8%.
3. Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte at 94.5%.
4. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds at 91.5%.
5. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 91.0%.
6. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt at 87.5%.
7. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott at 86.6%.
8. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum at 85.3%.
9. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee at 82.5%.
10. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice at 81.3%.
11. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin at 81.0%.
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The CPAC Foundation’s ratings are considered the gold standard for conservatives. The group scores some 8,000 lawmakers.
The group rated all governors, and Democrats were at the bottom of its list.