Gregory Brian Standridge (May 6, 1967 – November 16, 2017) was an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Arkansas State Senate for District 16, which includes

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and Pope counties and parts of Boone, Carroll and

Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he ...

counties in the northern portion of his state.

Early life and education

Standridge graduated from Russellville High School and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1987 from Arkansas Tech University in Russellville.

Career

Standridge won a low-turnout special

runoff election The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...

held on February 10, 2015, to succeed fellow Republican

Michael Lamoureux Michael John Lamoureux (born June 2, 1976) is a lawyer, lobbyist, and former Republican politician from Russellville, Arkansas. He served in the Arkansas General Assembly for over ten years before resigning to serve as chief of staff to Governor ...

, who resigned in November 2014 to become chief of staff in the new state administration of Governor Asa Hutchinson. Standridge defeated fellow Republican Stan J. Berry, 2,675 votes (53.6 percent) to 2,313 (46.4 percent). Though he was elected in mid-February, Standridge was not allowed to fill the vacant Senate seat until April 2015.

Personal life

He and his wife, Karen Sue Flegel Standridge (born c. 1966), had four children. Standridge died of cancer at the age of 50.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Standridge, Greg 1957 births 2017 deaths Arkansas Tech University alumni People from Russellville, Arkansas Businesspeople from Arkansas Insurance agents County officials in Arkansas American firefighters Republican Party Arkansas state senators Baptists from Arkansas 21st-century American politicians Deaths from cancer in Arkansas 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century Baptists