Carla Sands, former President Donald Trump's ambassador to Denmark, announced Tuesday that she will join the crowded Republican primary field for Pennsylvania's open U.S. Senate seat.
Sands for months has made the rounds of the state Republican Party's circuit of dinners, meet-and-greets and fundraisers, introducing herself to party rank-and-file members.
The race for Pennsylvania's open U.S. Senate seat is expected to be one of the nation's most competitive in 2022, helping to determine control of the chamber.
Sands, 60, grew up in Cumberland County, outside Harrisburg, and spent much of her adult life living in California.
There, she took over as CEO of Vintage Capital Group, the real estate investment firm founded by her late husband, Fred Sands, a prominent Republican campaign donor, philanthropist and real-estate mogul who died in 2015.
She helped raise money for Trump's campaign during the 2016 presidential campaign, hosting a fundraiser at her Bel-Air mansion, and was appointed to ambassador to Denmark in 2017. She also gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to Trump's campaign.
Sands had a TV and movie career and practiced chiropractic medicine before she married Sands in 1999.
The primary election is next May.
Already in the running are Sean Parnell, a decorated Army veteran and author whose regular guest appearances on Fox News programs helped make him a favorite of Trump, as well as real estate investor Jeff Bartos and conservative commentator Kathy Barnette, among others.
