William Tracy Arnold (born February 14, 1969) is an American politician, representing the 3rd district in the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected fo ...

since 2012.

Early life and education

Arnold was born in Prentiss County, Mississippi 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 Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

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 Works * ...

and ran against 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

, 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 Travis Wayne Childers (born March 29, 1958) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2008 to 2011. The district included much of the northern portion of the state including New Albany, Columbus, Oxford, Southa ...

, 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 1990s ...

, 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 extrac ...

. 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 and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

". He supports the

NRA The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent gun rights lobbying organization while conti ...

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 agri ...

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