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Republican Party of Arkansas

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The Republican Party of Arkansas (RPA), headquartered at 1201 West 6th Street in downtown Little Rock, is the affiliate of the Republican Party in Arkansas. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all four of Arkansas' U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate seats, all statewide executive offices, including the governorship, and supermajorities in both houses of the state legislature.

Republican Party of Arkansas
AbbreviationRPA
ChairmanJoseph K. Wood
GovernorSarah Huckabee Sanders
Lieutenant GovernorLeslie Rutledge
Senate President pro temporeBart Hester
House SpeakerMatthew Shepherd
FoundedApril 2, 1867
(157 years ago) (1867-04-02)
Headquarters1201 West 6th Street, Little Rock, Arkansas
Membership (June 2021)117,277[1]
IdeologyConservatism
National affiliationRepublican Party
State House
82 / 100
State Senate
29 / 35
Statewide Executive Offices
7 / 7
U.S. House of Representatives
4 / 4
U.S. Senate
2 / 2
Election symbol
Website
arkansasgop.org

The Republican Party of Arkansas was founded on April 2, 1867, by "the leading Union men" of Arkansas.[2] Under Powell Clayton, it played a preeminent role in politics at the height of Reconstruction in the state (1864–1874).[3] The party chairman is Joseph K. Wood.

History

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Powell Clayton, 9th Governor of Arkansas (1868–1871) and the first Republican to hold the office

The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP (Grand Old Party), is the second oldest currently existing political party in the United States after its older rival, the Democratic Party. Both parties exist in all fifty states. Historically, prior to the late 20th century, the Republican Party was much weaker than the Democratic Party in the former states of the old Confederacy, including Arkansas.

The Arkansas party did not hire its first paid executive director until 1970, when businessman Neal Sox Johnson, then of Nashville, Arkansas, assumed the position in the last year of Winthrop Rockefeller's second term as governor of Arkansas. Johnson held the position until early in 1973, when he left Arkansas to take a position with the former Farmers Home Administration in Washington.[4]

Between 2010 and 2014, similar to what took place in neighboring Oklahoma, Arkansas Republicans won all four U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate seats, all of the statewide offices, and supermajority control of both chambers of the General Assembly.

Associated groups

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There are six groups and these groups are: Arkansas Diversity Alliances Coalition, African American Coalition of Arkansas, Arkansas African American Trailblazers, Arkansas Federation of College Republicans, Arkansas Federation of Young Republicans, Arkansas Federation of Republican Women, and the Arkansas Federation of Teenage Republicans. The Tusk Club is another arm of the Arkansas Republican Party.

Republican governors

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As of 2023, there have been a total of eight Republican governors.

# Governor Photo County Start date End date Time in office
9 Powell Clayton (1833–1914)   Jefferson July 2, 1868 March 17, 1871[a] 2 years, 258 days
— Ozra Amander Hadley (1826–1915)   Pulaski March 17, 1871 January 6, 1873 1 year, 295 days[b]
10 Elisha Baxter (1827–1899)   Independence January 6, 1873 November 12, 1874 1 year, 310 days
37 Winthrop Rockefeller (1912–1973)   Conway January 10, 1967 January 12, 1971 4 years, 2 days
41 Frank D. White (1933–2003)   Pulaski January 19, 1981 January 11, 1983 1 year, 357 days
44 Mike Huckabee (born 1955)   Hempstead July 15, 1996 January 9, 2007 10 years, 359 days
46 Asa Hutchinson (born 1950)   Benton January 13, 2015 January 10, 2023 7 years, 362 days
47 Sarah Huckabee Sanders (born 1982)   Hempstead January 10, 2023 Incumbent 1 year, 328 days

Current elected officials

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The Arkansas Republican Party controls all of the state's seven statewide offices. Republicans also hold both of the state's U.S. Senate seats and all four of the state's U.S. House seats.

Members of Congress

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U.S. Senate

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Republicans have controlled both of Arkansas's seats in the U.S. Senate since 2015:

U.S. House of Representatives

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Out of the four seats Arkansas is apportioned in the U.S. House of Representatives, all four are held by Republicans:

District Member Photo
1st Rick Crawford
 
2nd French Hill
 
3rd Steve Womack
 
4th Bruce Westerman
 

Statewide offices

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Republicans control all seven of the elected statewide constitutional offices:

State legislative leaders

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List of chairmen

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This is a list of chairmen of the Republican Party of Arkansas:[5]

Electoral history

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Gubernatorial

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Arkansas Republican Party gubernatorial election results
Election Gubernatorial candidate Votes Vote % Result
1994 Sheffield Nelson 287,904 40.16% Lost  N
1998 Mike Huckabee 421,989 59.77% Won  Y
2002 Mike Huckabee 427,082 53.02% Won  Y
2006 Asa Hutchinson 315,040 40.67% Lost  N
2010 Jim Keet 262,784 33.63% Lost  N
2014 Asa Hutchinson 470,429 55.44% Won  Y
2018 Asa Hutchinson 582,406 65.33% Won  Y
2022 Sarah Huckabee Sanders 571,105 62.96% Won  Y

See also

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References

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Notes

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  1. ^ Resigned.
  2. ^ President of the Senate acting as Governor.

Citations

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  1. ^ "VR Statistics Report for June 2021" (PDF). Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  2. ^ Clayton, Powell (1915). The Aftermath of the Civil War, in Arkansas. New York: The Neale Publishing Company. pp. 35–37. LCCN 15004463. OCLC 3508506. OL 6574262M – via Internet Archive.  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ Barth, Jay (September 19, 2017). "Republican Party". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Little Rock, Arkansas: CALS. 594. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  4. ^ Arkansas Outlook, Arkansas Republican Party newsletter, February 1973
  5. ^ Coon, Ken, Dr. Heroes and Heroines of the Journey: The Builders of the Modern Republican Party of Arkansas. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
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