Charlie Daniels (born December 7, 1939) is an American

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

politician from

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

. He was the State Auditor of Arkansas from 2011 to 2015 and previously served as

Arkansas Secretary of State The secretary of state of Arkansas is one of the elected constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The current Secretary of State is Republican John Thurston, former Arkansas land commissioner from Pulaski County in central Arka ...

, and as Commissioner of State Lands.

Early life and education

Charlie Daniels was born in the

Union County, Arkansas Union County is a county located on the central southern border of the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,639. The county seat is El Dorado. The county was formed on November 2, 1829, and named in recognition ...

community of Parkers Chapel, and grew up in

El Dorado, Arkansas El Dorado, founded by Matthew Rainey, is a city in, and the county seat of, Union County, on the southern border of Arkansas, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 18,884. El Dorado is headquarters of the Ark ...

. He served in the United States Air Force and the Air Force Reserve. Daniels attended

Southern Arkansas University Southern Arkansas University (SAU) is a public university in Magnolia, Arkansas. History Southern Arkansas University was established by an Act of the Arkansas Legislature in 1909 as a district agricultural high school for southwest Arkansas an ...

, and the

University of Arkansas at Little Rock The University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UA Little Rock) is a public research university in Little Rock, Arkansas. Established as Little Rock Junior College by the Little Rock School District in 1927, the institution became a private four-year ...

. He began his political career as a member of the Parker's Chapel school board from 1972 to 1974. From 1974 to 1980, he served as Director of the Arkansas Department of Labor in the Cabinet of Governor

David Pryor David Hampton Pryor (born August 29, 1934) is an American politician and former Democratic United States Representative and United States Senator from the State of Arkansas. Pryor also served as the 39th Governor of Arkansas from 1975 to 1979 a ...

until 1979, and was retained in that post for another year under Governor

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

. He served as director of government affairs for the

Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation The Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation (AECC) is an electrical generation and distribution cooperative founded in 1949 and headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. It sells wholesale energy to 17 member cooperatives serving 500,000 custome ...

from 1980 to 1984.

Political career

In 1984, he was elected as Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands, and was subsequently re-elected to four-year terms in 1986, 1990, 1994, and 1998. He was elected as the 32nd Arkansas Secretary of State in 2002, defeating the Republican Party nominee, Janet Huckabee, the wife of then-Governor

Mike Huckabee Michael Dale Huckabee (born August 24, 1955) is an American politician, Baptist minister, and political commentator who served as the 44th governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate for the Republican Party presidential nomina ...

, and was re-elected in 2006. In 2010, he ran for State Auditor, opposed only by

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

candidate Mary Hughes-Willis. He won the election and took office in January 2011. Daniels announced in 2013 that he would not seek re-election in the

2014 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2014. * 2014 United Nations Security Council election 16 October 2014 Africa * 2014 Algerian presidential election 17 April 2014 * 2014 Botswana general election 24 October 2014 * 2014 Comorian presi ...

. Hoping to succeed him were Republican State Representative

Andrea Lea Andrea Christine Lea (born 1957) is an American politician who served as the Arkansas State Auditor and is a Republican former member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Russellville, Arkansas. She was elected state auditor on Novembe ...

, Democrat Regina Stewart Hampton and Libertarian Brian Leach. Lea won the election and took office as the next State Auditor in January 2015.

Personal life

A widower, he was married to Patricia Ann Burleson Daniels for 46 years. He has two children, four grandsons, two granddaughters and one great-grandson.

References

Notes

Arkansas State Auditor Biography

Project Vote Smart Profile
1939 births Living people State Auditors of Arkansas Secretaries of State of Arkansas State cabinet secretaries of Arkansas Arkansas Democrats People from Union County, Arkansas People from Bryant, Arkansas University of Arkansas at Little Rock alumni Southern Arkansas University alumni {{Arkansas-politician-stub