William Tracy Arnold (born February 14, 1969) is an American politician, representing the 3rd district in the
Mississippi House of Representatives since 2012.
Early life and education
Arnold was born in
Prentiss County, Mississippi
Prentiss County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 25,275. Its county seat is Booneville. The county is named for Seargent Smith Prentiss, a noted speaker and US Congressman from ...
on February 14, 1969, where he attended New Site High School.
In 1998, he received a
Doctorate of Divinity
A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity.
In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ra ...
in Theology from the Life International Bible Institute and Seminary. He serves as a pastor for The Vineyard Church, which is located in the 3rd district in
Booneville.
Political career
In 2007, Arnold ran an unsuccessful campaign against then-incumbent Representative and Speaker of the House
William J. McCoy, receiving 38% of the vote.
2011–2015
In 2011, Arnold ran for election to the 3rd district following news that McCoy would not seek reelection. He ran unopposed in the
Republican primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
* Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea
* Primary Music, Israeli record label
Work ...
and ran against
Democratic
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
contender Tommy Cadle, where he won in the general election with 53% of the vote to Cadle's 47%.
He assumed office on January 3, 2012.
Running as a
Republican, Arnold flipped the seat, as McCoy was a Democrat.
2015–2019
For the 2015 election, Arnold faced Democratic candidate Lauren Childers.
Childers, a daughter of former
United States House Representative Travis Childers, won in the Democratic primary with 68.5% of the vote.
She lost in the general election, receiving around 43% of the vote.
In 2016, Arnold was a cosponsor of the controversial
Religious Liberty Accommodations Act.
As of 2021, Mississippi is the only state that doesn't have a law supporting equal pay.
Arnold, who is a supporter of pay equity, spearheaded a bill to establish equal pay for equal work as a state law in 2018.
The bill failed to garner enough support for it to pass.
2019–present
Arnold held his seat against Democratic contender Janis Patterson, winning nearly 78% of the vote.
In 2020, Arnold sponsored two bills to restrict
Internet pornography
Internet pornography is any pornography that is accessible over the internet, primarily via websites, FTP servers peer-to-peer file sharing, or Usenet newsgroups. The availability of widespread public access to the World Wide Web in late 19 ...
, with his reasoning being to protect children and to help stop
human trafficking
Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extr ...
. Both bills died in committee.
For the 2021 session, Arnold chairs the Interstate Corporation committee and is a member on the following others: Agriculture, Appropriations, Banking and Financial Services, Energy, Insurance, and Transportation.
Political positions
During his election campaign in 2011, Arnold voiced support for additional funding for education.
In 2020, Arnold voted no to a resolution on
changing the Mississippi State flag.
Arnold describes himself as "staunchly
pro-life
Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of ...
".
He supports the
NRA and
Farm Bureau
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), also known as Farm Bureau Insurance and Farm Bureau Inc. but more commonly just the Farm Bureau (FB), is a United States-based insurance company and lobbying group that represents the American ag ...
.
Personal life
Arnold is married and has two children.
He and his family are of Christian faith.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold, William Tracy
1969 births
21st-century American politicians
Living people
Republican Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives
People from Prentiss County, Mississippi