2014 Arkansas elections

2014 Arkansas elections

A general election was held in the U.S. state of Arkansas on November 4, 2014. All of Arkansas' executive officers were up for election as well as a United States Senate seat, and all of Arkansas' four seats in the United States House of Representatives. Primary elections were held on May 20, 2014, for offices that need to nominate candidates. Primary runoffs, necessary if no candidate wins a majority of the vote, were held on June 10, 2014.

In the 2014 general election in Arkansas, Republican candidates won all statewide executive offices, the U.S. Senate seat up for election, majorities in both state legislative chambers, and all four U.S. House seats, decisively ending over 130 years of Democratic dominance in the state.

Governor

Main article: 2014 Arkansas gubernatorial election

Incumbent Democratic governor Mike Beebe was term-limited and could not run for re-election to a third term as governor.

Democratic nominee former U.S. representative Mike Ross, Republican nominee former U.S. representative Asa Hutchinson, Green nominee Josh Drake and Libertarian nominee Frank Gilbert contested in the general election.

With Hutchinson's victory, Republicans gained a trifecta for the first time since 1874.

Results

Arkansas gubernatorial election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Asa Hutchinson	470,429	55.44
	Democratic	Mike Ross	352,115	41.49
	Libertarian	Frank Gilbert	16,319	1.92
	Green	Josh Drake	9,729	1.15
Majority			118,314	13.94
Total votes			848,592	100
	Republican gain from Democratic

Lieutenant governor

2014 Arkansas lieutenant gubernatorial election

Nominee Tim Griffin John Burkhalter Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 479,673 324,260 Percentage 57.16% 38.64%

County results Griffin:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Burkhalter:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

Lieutenant Governor before election Vacant Elected Lieutenant Governor Tim Griffin Republican

The office of lieutenant governor had been vacant since Republican Mark Darr resigned on February 1, 2014, while under investigation for ethics violations involving illegal use of campaign funds.

Republican primary

Confirmed candidates

• Tim Griffin, U.S. representative
• Debra Hobbs, state representative
• Andy Mayberry, state representative ran for the Republican nomination.

Withdrawn candidates

• Charlie Collins, state representative

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Tim Griffin	Debra Hobbs	Andy Mayberry	Undecided
Talk Business/Hendrix College	April 29, 2014	1,516	± 2.5%	54%	6%	15%	26%
Public Policy Polling	April 25–27, 2014	342	± 5.3%	39%	8%	19%	34%

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tim Griffin	109,851	63.37
	Republican	Andy Mayberry	35,703	20.59
	Republican	Debra Hobbs	27,803	16.04
Total votes			173,357	100

Democratic nominee

• John Burkhalter, former state Highway Commissioner

Withdrawn

• Dianne Curry, president of the Little Rock School Board

Libertarian nominee

• Chris Olson

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Tim Griffin (R)	John Burkhalter (D)	Christopher Olson (L)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	October 30–November 1, 2014	1,092	± 3%	46%	38%	6%	11%
Suffolk	September 20–23, 2014	500	± 4.4%	35%	42%	5%	18%
Public Policy Polling	September 18–21, 2014	1,453	± 2.6%	42%	36%	4%	18%
Public Policy Polling	August 1–3, 2014	1,066	± 3%	41%	32%	6%	21%
Public Policy Polling	April 25–27, 2014	840	± 3.4%	39%	30%	—	31%

Results

Arkansas lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tim Griffin	479,673	57.16
	Democratic	John Burkhalter	324,260	38.64
	Libertarian	Christopher Olson	35,257	4.20
Majority			155,413	18.52
Total votes			839,190	100
	Republican hold

Attorney general

Main article: 2014 Arkansas Attorney General election

Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Dustin McDaniel was term-limited and could not run for re-election to a third term in office.

State Representative Nate Steel ran for the Democrats. Attorney Zac White, who had considered running, endorsed Steel and instead ran for the state senate.

Leslie Rutledge was the Republican nominee and emerged victorious.

Arkansas Attorney General election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Leslie Rutledge	430,799	51.61
	Democratic	Nate Steel	360,680	43.21
	Libertarian	Aaron Cash	43,245	5.18
Majority			70,119	8.40
Total votes			834,724	100
	Republican gain from Democratic

Secretary of State

2014 Arkansas Secretary of State election

Nominee Mark Martin Susan Inman Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 506,384 292,878 Percentage 60.61% 35.06%

County results Martin:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Inman:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

Secretary of State before election Mark Martin Republican Elected Secretary of State Mark Martin Republican

Incumbent Republican secretary of state Mark Martin won re-election to a second term in office.

Republican nominee

• Mark Martin, incumbent

Democratic nominee

• Susan Inman, Arkansas Board of Election Commissioner and Pulaski County Election Commissioner

Libertarian nominee

• Jacob Holloway

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Mark Martin (R)	Susan Inman (D)	Jacob Holloway (L)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	October 30–November 1, 2014	1,092	± 3%	47%	35%	6%	11%
Suffolk	September 20–23, 2014	500	± 4.4%	35%	34%	6%	25%
Public Policy Polling	September 18–21, 2014	1,453	± 2.6%	43%	32%	5%	20%
Public Policy Polling	August 1–3, 2014	1,066	± 3%	39%	33%	6%	21%

Results

Arkansas Secretary of State election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Martin (incumbent)	506,384	60.61
	Democratic	Susan Inman	292,878	35.06
	Libertarian	Jacob Holloway	36,159	4.33
Majority			213,506	25.55
Total votes			835,421	100
	Republican hold

State Treasurer

2014 Arkansas State Treasurer election

Nominee Dennis Milligan Karen Sealy Garcia Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 466,959 308,663 Percentage 56.38% 37.27%

County results Milligan:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Garcia:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

State Treasurer before election Charles Robinson Democratic Elected State Treasurer Dennis Milligan Republican

Incumbent Democratic State Treasurer Charles Robinson, who served in the office from May 29, 2013, did not run for re-election, per the terms of his appointment. He was appointed to the office following the resignation of Martha Shoffner.

Democratic nominee

• Karen Sealy Garcia, accountant

Republican primary

Candidates

• Duncan Baird, state representative
• Dennis Milligan, Saline County Circuit Clerk and former chairman of the Republican Party of Arkansas

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Duncan Baird	Dennis Milligan	Undecided
Talk Business/Hendrix College	April 29, 2014	1,516	± 2.5%	10%	16%	75%

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dennis Milligan	86,994	53.48
	Republican	Duncan Baird	75,673	46.52
Total votes			162,667	100

Libertarian nominee

• Chris Hayes

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Karen Garcia (D)	Dennis Milligan (R)	Chris Hayes (L)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	October 30–November 1, 2014	1,092	± 3%	37%	45%	10%	9%
Public Policy Polling	September 18–21, 2014	1,453	± 2.6%	31%	39%	7%	23%
Public Policy Polling	August 1–3, 2014	1,066	± 3%	31%	36%	10%	23%

Results

Arkansas State Treasurer election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dennis Milligan	466,959	56.38
	Democratic	Karen Sealy Garcia	308,663	37.27
	Libertarian	Chris Hayes	52,640	6.35
Majority			158,296	19.11
Total votes			828,262	100
	Republican gain from Democratic

State Auditor

2014 Arkansas State Auditor election

Nominee Andrea Lea Regina Stewart Hampton Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 471,211 308,285 Percentage 57.17% 37.40%

County results Lea:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Hampton:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

State Auditor before election Charlie Daniels Democratic Elected State Auditor Andrea Lea Republican

Incumbent Democratic State Auditor Charlie Daniels chose to retire rather than run for re-election to a second term.

Democratic nominee

• Regina Stewart Hampton, employee in the Unclaimed Property Division of the State Auditor's Office

Republican primary

Candidates

• Andrea Lea, state representative
• Ken Yang, former campaign manager for Mark Martin

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Andrea Lea	Ken Yang	Undecided
Talk Business/Hendrix College	April 29, 2014	1,516	± 2.5%	32%	12%	56%

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Andrea Lea	111,998	68.17
	Republican	Ken Yang	52,293	31.83
Total votes			164,291	100

Libertarian nominee

• Brian Leach

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Regina Stewart Hampton (D)	Andrea Lea (R)	Brian Leach (L)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	October 30–November 1, 2014	1,092	± 3%	36%	44%	8%	12%
Public Policy Polling	September 18–21, 2014	1,453	± 2.6%	33%	37%	7%	24%
Public Policy Polling	August 1–3, 2014	1,066	± 3%	31%	35%	10%	24%

Results

Arkansas State Auditor election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Andrea Lea	471,211	57.17
	Democratic	Regina Stewart Hampton	308,285	37.40
	Libertarian	Brian Leach	44,702	5.43
Majority			162,926	19.77
Total votes			824,198	100
	Republican gain from Democratic

Commissioner of State Lands

2014 Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands election

Nominee John Thurston Mark Robertson Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 471,848 302,048 Percentage 57.17% 36.59%

County results Thurston:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Robertson:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

Commissioner of State Lands before election John Thurston Republican Elected Commissioner of State Lands John Thurston Republican

Incumbent Republican Commissioner of State Lands John Thurston ran for re-election to a second term in office.

Republican nominee

• John Thurston, incumbent

Democratic nominee

• Mark Robertson, landscape architect

Libertarian nominee

• Elvis D. Presley, Elvis Presley impersonator and auto-mechanic

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	John Thurston (R)	Mark Robertson (D)	Elvis D. Presley (L)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	October 30–November 1, 2014	1,092	± 3%	45%	36%	9%	10%
Public Policy Polling	September 18–21, 2014	1,453	± 2.6%	38%	33%	7%	22%
Public Policy Polling	August 1–3, 2014	1,066	± 3%	40%	29%	10%	22%
Public Policy Polling	April 25–27, 2014	840	± 3.4%	28%	27%	17%	29%

Results

Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Thurston (incumbent)	471,848	57.17
	Democratic	Mark Robertson	302,048	36.59
	Libertarian	Elvis D. Presley	51,518	6.24
Majority			169,800	20.58
Total votes			825,414	100
	Republican hold

United States Senate

Main article: 2014 United States Senate election in Arkansas

Incumbent Democratic senator Mark Pryor ran for re-election to a third term. Republican Tom Cotton, Green Mark Swaney and Libertarian Nathan LaFrance also ran.

U.S. Senate election in Arkansas, 2014

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Cotton	478,819	56.50
	Democratic	Mark Pryor (incumbent)	334,174	39.43
	Libertarian	Nathan LaFrance	17,210	2.03
	Green	Mark Swaney	16,797	1.98
	Write-in		505	0.06
Majority			144,645	17.07
Total votes			847,505	100
	Republican gain from Democratic

United States House of Representatives

Main article: 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Arkansas

All of Arkansas' four seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 2014. Republicans held all four districts.

General Assembly

State Senate

18 out of 35 seats in the Arkansas Senate were up for election. Republicans won 13 while Democrats won five. The resulting composition was 24 Republicans and 11 Democrats, with Republicans making a gain of three seats.

2014 Arkansas Senate election

Party		Before	After	Change
	Republican	21	24	3
	Democratic	13	11	2
vacant		1	0	1
Total		35

State House of Reresentatives

All 100 seats in the Arkansas House of Representatives were up for election. Republicans won 64 while Democrats won 36, with Republicans gaining 13 seats.

2014 Arkansas House of Representatives election

Party		Before	After	Change
	Republican	51	64	13
	Democratic	48	36	12
	Green	1	0	1
Total		100

State Supreme Court

Three seats on the Arkansas Supreme Court were up for election, only one of which was contested.

Associate Justice, Position 2

Incumbent Justice Donald Corbin retired at the end of his term. Robin Wynne, a judge on the Arkansas Court of Appeals, narrowly defeated lawyer Tim Cullen.

Ballot measures

Five statewide measures were on the ballot in 2014, four of which were approved by the voters.

2014 Arkansas ballot measures

Name	Description	Votes				Type
		Yes	%	No	%
Issue 1	Requires legislative review and approval of changes to state agencies' administrative rules.	469,431	59.06	325,396	40.94	Legislatively referred constitutional amendment
Issue 2	Sets threshold of 75 percent of required petition signatures to obtain additional time for signature collection.	425,709	53.31	372,784	46.69
Issue 3	Extends length of time state legislators can stay in office to 16 years; limits lobbying and creates independent elected officials salary commission.	428,206	52.43	388,459	47.57
Issue 4	Legalizes manufacture, transportation and sale of alcohol statewide.	354,446	42.59	477,877	57.41	Citizen-initiated constitutional amendment
Issue 5	Increases the state’s minimum wage from $6.25 to $8.50 per hour by 2017.	548,789	65.94	283,524	34.06	Citizen-initiated state statute