Republican Party of Arkansas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | RPA |
| Chairman | Joseph K. Wood |
| Governor | Sarah Huckabee Sanders |
| Lieutenant Governor | Leslie Rutledge |
| Senate President pro tempore | Bart Hester |
| House Speaker | Matthew Shepherd |
| Founded | April 2, 1867 (158 years ago) (1867-04-02) |
| Headquarters | 1201 West 6th Street,Little Rock, Arkansas |
| Membership(June 2021) | 117,277[1] |
| Ideology | Conservatism |
| National affiliation | Republican 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 | |
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| Website | |
| arkansasgop | |
TheRepublican Party of Arkansas (RPA), headquartered at 1201 West 6th Street in downtownLittle Rock, is the affiliate of theRepublican Party inArkansas. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all four of Arkansas'U.S. House seats, bothU.S. Senate seats, all statewide executive offices, including thegovernorship, and supermajorities in both houses of thestate legislature.
The Republican Party of Arkansas was founded on April 2, 1867, by "the leadingUnion men" of Arkansas.[2] UnderPowell Clayton, it played a preeminent role in politics at the height ofReconstruction in the state (1864–1874).[3] The party chairman is Joseph K. Wood.
The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP (Grand Old Party), is the second oldest currently existing political party in theUnited States after its older rival, theDemocratic 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 oldConfederacy, includingArkansas.
The Arkansas party did not hire its first paid executive director until 1970, when businessman Neal Sox Johnson, then ofNashville, Arkansas, assumed the position in the last year ofWinthrop Rockefeller's second term asgovernor of Arkansas.Johnson held the position until early in 1973, when he left Arkansas to take a position with the formerFarmers Home Administration inWashington.[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 theGeneral Assembly.
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.
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) | _2.jpg) | 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) | .jpg) | Conway | January 10, 1967 | January 12, 1971 | 4 years, 2 days |
| 41 | Frank D. White (1933–2003) | .jpg) | Pulaski | January 19, 1981 | January 11, 1983 | 1 year, 357 days |
| 44 | Mike Huckabee (born 1955) | .jpg) | 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) | .jpg) | Hempstead | January 10, 2023 | Incumbent | 2 years, 317 days |
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.
Republicans have controlled both of Arkansas's seats in theU.S. Senate since2015:
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Out of the four seats Arkansas is apportioned in theU.S. House of Representatives, all four are held by Republicans:
| District | Member | Photo |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Rick Crawford |  |
| 2nd | French Hill |  |
| 3rd | Steve Womack | .jpg) |
| 4th | Bruce Westerman |  |
Republicans control all seven of the elected statewide constitutional offices:
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This is a list of chairmen of the Republican Party of Arkansas:[5]
| 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% | WonY |
| 2006 | Asa Hutchinson | 315,040 | 40.67% | LostN |
| 2010 | Jim Keet | 262,784 | 33.63% | LostN |
| 2014 | Asa Hutchinson | 470,429 | 55.44% | WonY |
| 2018 | Asa Hutchinson | 582,406 | 65.33% | WonY |
| 2022 | Sarah Huckabee Sanders | 571,105 | 62.96% | WonY |
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
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34°44′41.1″N92°17′04.7″W / 34.744750°N 92.284639°W /34.744750; -92.284639
