Political party strength in Arkansas
The following table indicates the party of elected officials in the U.S. state of Arkansas:
- Governor
- Lieutenant Governor
- Secretary of State
- Attorney General
- State Auditor
- State Treasurer
- State Land Commissioner
The table also indicates the historical party composition in the:
- State Senate
- State House of Representatives
- State delegation to the United States Senate
- State delegation to the United States House of Representatives
For years in which a United States presidential election was held, the table indicates which party's nominees received the state's electoral votes.
Pre-statehood (1819–1836)
| Year | Executive offices | General Assembly | U.S. Congress | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | Sec. of Terr. | Treasurer | Senate | House | Delegate | |
| 1819 | Robert Crittenden (DR)[a] | Robert Crittenden (DR) | James Scull | [?] | [?] | James Woodson Bates (I) |
| James Miller (I)[b][c] | ||||||
| 1820 | ||||||
| 1821 | ||||||
| 1822 | ||||||
| 1823 | Henry W. Conway (DR) | |||||
| 1824 | ||||||
| Robert Crittenden (DR)[d] | ||||||
| 1825 | ||||||
| George Izard (DR)[e] | ||||||
| 1826 | ||||||
| 1827 | Ambrose H. Sevier (J) | |||||
| 1828 | ||||||
| vacant[f] | ||||||
| 1829 | [?] | |||||
| John Pope (J) | ||||||
| ... | ||||||
| 1832 | ||||||
| 1833 | Samuel Morton Rutherford | |||||
| 1834 | ||||||
| 1835 | ||||||
| William S. Fulton (J) | ||||||
| 1836 | ||||||
1836–1874
1874–1926
1927–present
- ^ Acting territorial governor. As secretary of Arkansas Territory from 1819 to 1829, Crittenden served as acting governor whenever the appointed governor was not in the state. This meant he was in fact the first person to be governor of the territory, since James Miller did not arrive in the territory until nine months after his appointment.
- ^ President James Monroe appointed Miller territorial governor on March 3, 1819, the same date the bill organizing Arkansaw Territory was signed. However, to avoid the hot southern summer, he delayed his departure from New Hampshire until September and took a non-direct route, finally arriving in the territory on December 26, 1819.
- ^ Resigned citing poor health. At the time of his resignation, he had been absent from the territory for 18 months.
- ^ Territorial Governor George Izard did not arrive in Arkansas Territory until May 31, 1825; Crittenden, Secretary of the territory, acted as governor in his stead, though Crittenden himself was out of the territory when Izard arrived.
- ^ a b c d Died in office.
- ^ The office was vacant from November 22, 1828, until March 9, 1829. By the time notice of Izard's death reached Washington, D.C., Andrew Jackson had been elected president, and the U.S. Senate refused to approve Adams' choice for governor, preferring to wait until Jackson took office.
- ^ Resigned to run for the United States House of Representatives, winning the election.
- ^ As president of the Senate, acted as governor for unexpired term.
- ^ Resigned due to the low salary he received as governor.
- ^ a b As president of the state Senate, acted as governor until special election.
- ^ Elected in a special election to fill unexpired term.
- ^ The 1861 constitution was enacted during Rector's term; while term lengths remained at four years, a new election schedule was created, calling for elections in 1862, two years into his term.
- ^ Flanagin fled Little Rock as it fell to Union forces on September 10, 1863, leading a largely inept government in exile in Washington, Arkansas, until 1865. Isaac Murphy was elected provisional governor by a loyalist government set up after Union control of the state was established, taking office on April 18, 1864, causing a slight overlap in terms, though due to the collapse of the Confederate effort in Arkansas, Flanagin had no authority over the state.
- ^ The 1864 constitution was enacted during Flanagin's term; however, it was drafted by the Union occupation and had no effect on his government. While term lengths remained at four years, a new election schedule was created, calling for elections in 1864.
- ^ Resigned to take office as state secretary of state.
- ^ a b c d Resigned to take an elected seat in the United States Senate.
- ^ As president pro tempore of the state Senate, acted as governor for unexpired term; the office of lieutenant governor at the time was vacant.
- ^ Removed from office for a short time due to the Brooks–Baxter War.
- ^ The 1874 state constitution, enacted during Baxter's term, shortened his tenure to two years as new elections were scheduled.
- ^ a b More than a dozen Republicans resigned to take jobs in the Baxter administration. Democrats won a majority in the special elections that followed.
- ^ Resigned after suffering a nervous breakdown soon after taking office.
- ^ a b As president of the state Senate, acted as governor until the legislature adjourned.
- ^ As the new president pro tempore of the state Senate, became acting governor until his senate term expired.
- ^ As the new president pro tempore of the state Senate, became acting governor for three days until the next elected governor took office.
- ^ Elected in special election to fill unexpired term.
- ^ Resigned to become a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
- ^ a b c As lieutenant governor, acted as governor for unexpired term and was subsequently elected in his own right.
- ^ a b c Appointed by governor to fill vacancy.
- ^ a b As lieutenant governor, acted as governor for unexpired term.
- ^ Resigned after being elected governor in 1978.
- ^ Gubernatorial terms changed from two years to four years during Clinton's term; he was elected for two-year terms in 1982 and 1984, and for four-year terms in 1986 and 1990.
- ^ Resigned to become president of the United States.
- ^ Resigned after being convicted of mail fraud in the Whitewater scandal.
- ^ First elected in special election following Huckabee's elevation to governorship.
- ^ Richard Carroll switched parties from Green to Democratic.
- ^ Resigned February 1, 2014 after being fined for ethics violations.[3]
- ^ Rep. Nate Bell left the Republican Party to sit as an Independent in June 2015.[5] Mike Holcomb (District 10) changed parties from Democratic to Republican in August 2015.[6]
- ^ Reps. Joe Jett, Jeff Wardlaw, and David Hillman all switched parties from Democratic to Republican before the 2017 legislative session.[7]
See also
Notes
- ^ Rolfe, Maro O. (1904). "Chapter 3: Arkansas in Ante-Bellum Days". In Jones, Daniel Webster (ed.). The Province and the States. Vol. III. Madison, Wisconsin: Western Historical Association. p. 317.
William Adams was state treasurer January 2, 1849, to January 10, 1849
- ^ "Former State Auditor Dead". The Prescott daily news. Prescott, Ark. March 24, 1913. p. 1. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
- ^ Staff, Arkansas Times (2014-02-06). "It was a bad week for Mark Darr (again)". Arkansas Times. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
- ^ Waldon, George (2013-05-29). "Mike Beebe Names Charles Robinson State Treasurer". Arkansas Business. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
- ^ Lyon, John (2015-06-03). "Nate Bell Drops GOP Affiliation; Now Independent". Arkansas News Bureau. Archived from the original on 2015-07-08 – via Times Record.
- ^ "Rep. Mike Holcomb Switches Parties". Talk Business & Politics. 2015-08-20. Retrieved 2021-06-20.
- ^ "Rep. Jett switches to GOP; Arkansas Democrats lose lone committee majority". Talk Business & Politics. KATV. 2016-12-09. Retrieved 2021-06-20.