The Republican Party of Arkansas (RPA), headquartered at 1201 West 6th Street in downtown

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

, is the affiliate of the Republican Party in

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 O ...

. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all four of Arkansas'

U.S. House The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

seats, both

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

seats, the

governorship A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, and has supermajorities in both houses of the state legislature. The Republican Party of Arkansas was founded on April 2, 1867, by "the leading

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

men" of Arkansas. Under

Powell Clayton Powell Foulk Clayton (August 7, 1833August 25, 1914) was an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served as the 9th governor of Arkansas from 1868 to 1871, as a Republican member of the U.S. Senate for Arkansas from 1871 to 1877 ...

, it played a preeminent role in politics at the height of

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

in the state (1864–1874). The party chairman is Jonelle Fulmer

History

The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP (Grand Old Party), is the second oldest currently existing political party in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

after its older rival, the

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 ...

. 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 Confederacy, including

. 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 Winthrop Rockefeller (May 1, 1912 – February 22, 1973) was an American politician and philanthropist. Rockefeller was the fourth son and fifth child of American financer John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. He is one of the ...

'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 Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. 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

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presb ...

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 2015, there have been a total of seven Republican governors.

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

since

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

: File:Tom Cotton official Senate photo.jpg, Junior U.S. Senator File:Senator John Boozman Official Portrait (115th Congress).jpg, Senior U.S. Senator

U.S. House of Representatives

Out of the four seats Arkansas is apportioned in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, all four are held by Republicans:

Statewide offices

Republicans control all seven of the elected statewide constitutional offices: File:Asa Hutchinson crop.jpg,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

File:Rep Tim Griffin Official Photo.jpg, Lieutenant Governor File:Leslie Rutledge (25475720912) (1).jpg, Attorney General * Secretary of State: John Thurston * State Auditor:

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 ...

* State Treasurer:

Dennis Milligan Dennis Lee Milligan (born October 24, 1957) is the current Arkansas State Auditor following the 2022 election. He previously served as Treasurer of Arkansas. For that position he won the Republican Party nomination in the primary election on Ma ...

* Commissioner of State Lands: Tommy Land

State legislative leaders

Senate President Pro Tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase '' pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being ...

: Jimmy Hickey Jr. ** Senate Majority Leader:

Bart Hester Bart Franklin Hester (born December 9, 1977) is an American politician serving as a member of the Arkansas Senate from the 1st district. Elected in November 2012, he assumed office on January 14, 2013. Early life and education A native of Conwa ...

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

Matthew Shepherd Matthew Joseph Shepherd (born February 21, 1976) is an attorney from his native El Dorado, Arkansas, who is a Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives for District 6, which includes western Union County. He was elected in the ...

** Speaker Pro Tempore: Jon Eubanks ** House Majority Leader: Austin McCollum

List of chairmen

This is a list of chairmen of the Republican Party of Arkansas:Coon, Ken, Dr. Heroes and Heroines of the Journey: The Builders of the Modern Republican Party of Arkansas. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. * 1932–1955:

Osro Cobb Osro Cobb (May 28, 1904 – January 18, 1996) was a Republican lawyer who worked to establish a two-party system in the US state of Arkansas. In 1926, he was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives from Montgomery County and served as ...

* 1955–1962: Ben C. Henley * 1962–1964: William L. Spicer * 1964–1966: John P. Hammerschmidt * 1966–1970: Odell Pollard * 1970–1972: Charles T. Bernard * 1972–1974: Jim Caldwell * 1974–1980: A. Lynn Lowe * 1980: Jeraldine D. Pruden (

interim An interim is a period of temporary pause or change in a sequence of events, or a temporary state, and is often applied to transitional political entities. Interim may also refer to: Temporary organizational arrangements (general concept) *Provis ...

) * 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 * 1991–1992:

Asa Hutchinson William Asa Hutchinson II (, '' AY-sə''; born December 3, 1950) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who is the 46th and current governor of Arkansas. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. attorney for the Fort Smit ...

(co-chairman) * 1991–1992:

Sheffield Nelson Edward Sheffield Nelson, known as Sheffield Nelson (born April 23, 1941), is an American attorney, businessman and politician from the capital city of Little Rock, Arkansas. Originally a Democrat, Nelson in 1990 ran for governor of Arkansas as ...

(co-chairman) * 1992–1995: Asa Hutchinson * 1996–2002: Lloyd Vance Stone Jr. * 2002–2003: John P. Hammerschmidt * 2003–2004: Winthrop P. Rockefeller * 2004–2007: Gilbert Baker * 2007–2008:

* 2008–2020:

Doyle Webb Doyle Webb (born December 3, 1955) is an American politician who served as the Chair of the Arkansas Republican Party from 2008 to 2020. He currently serves as Chairman of the Arkansas Public Service Commission. During his tenure, Republicans gai ...

* 2020–present: Jonelle Fulmer

References

Notes

Citations

External links

* * {{Coord, 34, 44, 41.1, N, 92, 17, 04.7, W, region:US-AR_type:adm1st_scale:3000000, display=title 1867 establishments in Arkansas Non-profit organizations based in Little Rock, Arkansas Political parties in Arkansas Political parties established in 1867 Reconstruction Era