Republican Party of Arkansas

{{Short description|Arkansas affiliate of the Republican Party}} {{Use American English|date=October 2020}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2020}} {{Infobox political party | name = Republican Party of Arkansas | logo = [[File:Arkansas GOP logo.png|250px]] | abbreviation = RPA | colorcode = {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}} | leader1_title = [[Chairperson]] | leader1_name = [[Joseph K. Wood]] | leader2_title = [[List of governors of Arkansas|Governor]] | leader2_name = [[Sarah Huckabee Sanders]] | leader3_title = [[Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas|Lieutenant Governor]] | leader3_name = [[Leslie Rutledge]] | leader4_title = [[Arkansas Senate|Senate President pro tempore]] | leader4_name = [[Bart Hester]] | leader5_title = [[Arkansas House of Representatives|House Speaker]] | leader5_name = [[Brian S. Evans]] | founded = {{start date and age|1867|4|2|p=1|br=1}} | headquarters = 1201 West 6th Street, [[Little Rock, Arkansas]] | membership_year = June 2021 | membership = 117,277<ref>{{cite web |title=VR Statistics Report for June 2021|access-date=June 9, 2021 |url=https://www.sos.arkansas.gov/uploads/VR_Statistics_Report_for_June_2021.pdf}}</ref> | ideology = [[Conservatism in the United States|Conservatism]] | national = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] | seats1_title = [[Arkansas House of Representatives|State House]] | seats1 = {{Composition bar|80|100|hex={{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}}} | seats2_title = [[Arkansas Senate|State Senate]] | seats2 = {{Composition bar|29|35|hex={{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}}} | seats3_title = [[Politics and government of Arkansas#Local government|Statewide Executive Offices]] | seats3 = {{Composition bar|7|7|hex={{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}}} | seats5_title = [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] | seats5 = {{Composition bar|4|4|hex={{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}}} | seats6_title = [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] | seats6 = {{Composition bar|2|2|hex={{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}}} | symbol = [[File:Republican Party Disc (alternate).svg|100px]] | website = {{URL|arkansasgop.org}} | state = Arkansas }}

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

The Republican Party of Arkansas was founded on April 2, 1867, by "the leading [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] men" of Arkansas.<ref>{{cite book |last=Clayton |first=Powell |author-link=Powell Clayton |date=1915 |title=The Aftermath of the Civil War, in Arkansas |url=https://archive.org/details/aftermathofcivil00clay/page/36/ |location=New York |publisher=The Neale Publishing Company |pages=35–37 |lccn=15004463 |oclc=3508506 |ol=6574262M |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}{{PD-notice}}</ref> Under [[Powell Clayton]], it played a preeminent role in politics at the height of [[Reconstruction era|Reconstruction]] in the state (1864–1874).<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Barth |first=Jay |title=Republican Party |url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/republican-party-594/ |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Arkansas]] |date=September 19, 2017 |publisher=[[Central Arkansas Library System|CALS]] |location=Little Rock, Arkansas |id=594 |access-date=October 18, 2020}}</ref> The party chairman is Joseph K. Wood, and the current executive director is Drew Martin.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dhooge |first=Payton |date=2025-06-03 |title=Arkansas GOP appoints Drew Martin as new executive director |url=https://katv.com/news/local/arkansas-gop-appoints-drew-martin-as-new-executive-director-martin-has-previously-worked-as-the-arkansas-political-director-and-campaign-manager-for-congressman-french-hill-and-has-been-actively-involved-with-several-republican-grassroots-organizations |access-date=2025-12-26 |website=KATV |language=en}}</ref>

==History == [[File:Powell Clayton.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Powell Clayton, 9th Governor of Arkansas {{nowrap|(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 (United States)|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 [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]], including [[Arkansas in the American Civil War|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, D.C.|Washington]].<ref>''Arkansas Outlook'', Arkansas Republican Party newsletter, February 1973</ref>

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 [[Arkansas General Assembly|General Assembly]].

==Associated groups== 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 == As of 2023, there have been a total of eight Republican governors. {|class="sortable wikitable" |- !style="text-align:center;"|<abbr title="Order of presidency">#</abbr> !style="text-align:center;"|Governor !style="text-align:center;"|Photo !style="text-align:center;"|County !style="text-align:center;"|Start date !style="text-align:center;"|End date !style="text-align:center;"|Time in office |- style="text-align:left; background:#fff;" |9 |{{sortname|Powell|Clayton}} (1833–1914) |[[File:Powell Clayton.jpg|65px]] |[[Jefferson County, Arkansas|Jefferson]] |July 2, 1868 |March 17, 1871{{efn|name=died|Resigned.}} |{{ayd|1868|7|2|1871|3|17}} |- style="text-align:left; background:#fff;" |{{sort|9.1|—}} |{{sortname|Ozra Amander|Hadley}} (1826–1915) |[[File:O. A. Hadley (Arkansas Governor) 2.jpg|65px]] |[[Pulaski County, Arkansas|Pulaski]] |March 17, 1871 |January 6, 1873 |{{ayd|1871|3|17|1873|1|6}}{{efn|President of the Senate acting as Governor.}} |- style="text-align:left; background:#fff;" |10 |{{sortname|Elisha|Baxter}} (1827–1899) |[[File:Elisha Baxter.png|65px]] |[[Independence County|Independence]] |January 6, 1873 |November 12, 1874 |{{ayd|1873|1|6|1874|11|12}} |- style="text-align:left; background:#fff;" |37 |{{sortname|Winthrop|Rockefeller}} (1912–1973) |[[File:Winthrop Rockefeller Razorback 1969 (cropped).jpg|65px]] |[[Conway County, Arkansas|Conway]] |January 10, 1967 |January 12, 1971 |{{ayd|1967|1|10|1971|1|12}} |- style="text-align:left; background:#fff;" |41 |{{sortname|Frank D.|White}} (1933–2003) |[[File:Frank D. White 1995 (cropped).jpg|65px]] |[[Pulaski County, Arkansas|Pulaski]] |January 19, 1981 |January 11, 1983 |{{ayd|1981|1|19|1983|1|11}} |- style="text-align:left; background:#fff;" |44 |{{sortname|Mike|Huckabee}} (born 1955) |[[File:Mike Huckabee, August 2002 (cropped).jpg|65px]] |[[Hempstead County, Arkansas|Hempstead]] |July 15, 1996 |January 9, 2007 |{{ayd|1996|1|15|2007|1|9}} |- style="text-align:left; background:#fff;" |46 |{{sortname|Asa|Hutchinson}} (born 1950) |[[File:Asa Hutchinson 2019.jpg|65px]] |[[Benton County, Arkansas|Benton]] |January 13, 2015 |January 10, 2023 |{{ayd|2015|1|13|2023|1|10}} |- style="text-align:left; background:#fff;" |47 |{{sortname|Sarah|Huckabee Sanders}} (born 1982) |[[File:Sarah Sanders September 2024 (cropped).jpg|65px]] |[[Hempstead County, Arkansas|Hempstead]] |January 10, 2023 |Incumbent |{{ayd|2023|1|10}} |}

==Current elected officials== 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===

====U.S. Senate==== Republicans have controlled both of Arkansas's seats in the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] since [[2014 United States Senate elections|2015]]:

<gallery widths="180" heights="180"> File:Tom Cotton official Senate photo.jpg|Junior U.S. Senator {{Sortname|last=Cotton|first=Tom}} File:Senator John Boozman Official Portrait (115th Congress).jpg|Senior U.S. Senator {{Sortname|last=Boozman|first=John}} </gallery>

====U.S. House of Representatives==== Out of the four seats Arkansas is apportioned in the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]], all four are held by Republicans:

{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ !District !Member !Photo |- |[[Arkansas's 1st congressional district|1st]] |{{Sortname|first=Rick|last=Crawford|dab=politician}} |[[File:Crawford Rick 118th Congress.jpg|center|frameless|130px]] |- |[[Arkansas's 2nd congressional district|2nd]] |{{Sortname|first=French|last=Hill|dab=politician}} |[[File:Hill French 119th Congress.jpg|center|frameless|130px]] |- |[[Arkansas's 3rd congressional district|3rd]] |{{Sortname|first=Steve|last=Womack}} |[[File:Steve Womack 118thCongress (slight crop).jpg|center|frameless|130px]] |-

|[[Arkansas's 4th congressional district|4th]] |{{Sortname|first=Bruce|last=Westerman}} |[[File:Bruce Westerman 118th Congress.jpeg|center|frameless|130px]] |}

===Statewide offices=== Republicans control all seven of the elected statewide constitutional offices:

<gallery widths="200" heights="200"> File:Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (cropped) (cropped).jpg|[[Governor of Arkansas|Governor]] {{Sortname|last=Huckabee Sanders|first=Sarah}} File:Leslie Rutledge (25475720912) (1).jpg|[[Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas|Lieutenant Governor]] {{Sortname|last=Rutledge|first=Leslie}} File:Rep Tim Griffin Official Photo (cropped).jpg|[[Arkansas Attorney General|Attorney General]] {{Sortname|last=Griffin|first=Tim}} </gallery>

* [[Secretary of State of Arkansas|Secretary of State]]: '''[[Cole Jester]]''' * [[Arkansas State Auditor|State Auditor]]: '''[[Dennis Milligan]]''' * [[Arkansas State Treasurer|State Treasurer]]: '''[[John Thurston (politician)|John Thurston]]''' * [[Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands|Commissioner of State Lands]]: '''[[Tommy Land]]'''

===State legislative leaders=== * [[Arkansas Senate|Senate President Pro Tempore]]: '''[[Bart Hester]]''' ** Senate Majority Leader: '''[[Blake Johnson]]''' * [[Arkansas House of Representatives|Speaker of the House]]: '''[[Brian S. Evans]]''' ** Speaker Pro Tempore: '''[[Jon Eubanks]]''' ** House Majority Leader: '''[[Howard M. Beaty Jr.|Howard Beaty]]'''

== List of chairmen == This is a list of chairmen of the Republican Party of Arkansas:<ref>Coon, Ken, Dr. Heroes and Heroines of the Journey: The Builders of the Modern Republican Party of Arkansas. Self-published, isbn 0692795146. Print.</ref> {{div col|colwidth=22em}} * 1932–1955: [[Osro Cobb]] * 1955–1962: [[Ben C. Henley]] * 1962–1964: [[William L. Spicer]] * 1964–1966: [[John Paul Hammerschmidt|John P. Hammerschmidt]] * 1966–1970: [[Odell Pollard]] * 1970–1972: [[Charles T. Bernard]] * 1972–1974: [[Jim Caldwell (Arkansas politician)|Jim Caldwell]] * 1974–1980: [[Lynn Lowe|A. Lynn Lowe]] * 1980: Jeraldine D. Pruden ([[interim management|interim]]) * 1980–1982: Harlan Holleman * 1982: Bob Cohee (interim) * 1982–1983: [[Morris S. Arnold]] * 1983–1984: Bob Leslie * 1984–1985: William Kelly * 1985: [[Sharon Trusty]] (interim) * 1985–1986: Len E. Blaylock * 1986–1988: [[Ed Bethune]] * 1988–1990: Dr. Ken Coon (Also serving as Executive Director) * 1991–1992: [[Asa Hutchinson]] (co-chairman) * 1991–1992: [[Sheffield Nelson]] (co-chairman) * 1992–1995: Asa Hutchinson * 1995–2002: Lloyd Vance Stone Jr. * 2002–2003: [[John Paul Hammerschmidt|John P. Hammerschmidt]] * 2003–2004: [[Winthrop Paul Rockefeller|Winthrop P. Rockefeller]] * 2004–2007: [[Gilbert Baker (politician)|Gilbert Baker]] * 2007–2008: [[Dennis Milligan]] * 2008–2020: [[Doyle Webb]] * 2020–2022: Jonelle Fulmer * 2022–2023: [[J. Cody Hiland |Cody Hiland]] * 2023: John Parke * 2023–present: [[Joseph K. Wood|Joseph Wood]] {{div col end}}

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

==See also== * [[Democratic Party of Arkansas]] * [[Political party strength in Arkansas]]

==References==

===Notes=== {{Notelist}} {{notelist-ua}}

===Citations=== {{Reflist|30em}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} <!-- =============================================================================== WIKIPEDIA IS NOT A COLLECTION OF LINKS. Only a limited number of new links should be added to this article. PLEASE DO NOT ADD external links to sites with information already in the article or in its sources.

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{{State Republican Parties in the US|state=collapsed}} {{Portal bar|Conservatism|Politics|United States}} {{Authority control}} {{Coord|34|44|41.1|N|92|17|04.7|W|region:US-AR_type:adm1st_scale:3000000|display=title}}

[[Category:Republican Party of Arkansas| ]] [[Category:1867 establishments in Arkansas]] [[Category:Non-profit organizations based in Little Rock, Arkansas]] [[Category:Political parties in Arkansas]] [[Category:Political parties established in 1867]] [[Category:Reconstruction era]] [[Category:Republican Party (United States) by state|Arkansas]] [[Category:Right-wing populism in the United States]] [[Category:Organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights in the United States]] [[Category:Opposition to same-sex marriage in the United States]] [[Category:Anti-abortion organizations in the United States]] [[Category:Same-sex marriage in the United States]] [[Category:Lobbying in the United States]] [[Category:Climate change denial in the United States]] [[Category:Paleoconservative organizations]] [[Category:Anti-LGBTQ Christian organizations]]