Curtis Brandt Smith Jr. (born 18 April 1959) is an American politician and academic serving as a member of the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the ...

from the 58th district. In 2022, he was a candidate for U.S. congress in

Arkansas's 1st congressional district Arkansas's 1st congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in eastern Arkansas that elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives. It is currently represented by Republican Rick Crawford. With a Cook Partisan ...

Early life and education

Smith was born in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

. The son of a pastor, his family moved frequently before settling in Jonesboro,

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 received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the

National Louis University National Louis University (NLU) is a private university with its main campus in Chicago, Illinois. NLU enrolls undergraduate and graduate students in more than 60 programs across its four colleges. It has locations throughout the Chicago metropol ...

in 1990, a Master of Arts in religious education from

Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary is a theological institute located in Cordova in Shelby County, Tennessee (east of the City of Memphis), with a branch campus in Schenectady, New York, and an extension campus in Oxford, Mississippi. Tho ...

in 1997, and a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in management leadership from

Capella University Capella University is a private for-profit, online university headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school is owned by the publicly traded Strategic Education, Inc. and delivers most of its education online. Capella has 52 degree progr ...

in 2011.

Career

From 1992 to 2011, Smith worked as a missionary for

International Mission Board The International Mission Board (or IMB, formerly the Foreign Mission Board) is a Christian missionary society affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). The headquarters is in Richmond, Virginia, United States. History Thousands ...

. From 2006 to 2008, Smith also worked for Millennium Relief and Development Services, a non-profit organization. Smith has also been an adjunct professor at American Military University and

Liberty University Liberty University (LU) is a private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns, Liberty i ...

. Smith was elected to the

in November 2014 and assumed office in January 2015. In the 2021–2022 legislative session, Smith has served as vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee. Smith was defeated by Crawford by a wide margin in the district's Republican Primary.

References

1959 births Living people Politicians from Albuquerque, New Mexico Politicians from Jonesboro, Arkansas National Louis University alumni Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary alumni Capella University alumni United States Army officers Liberty University faculty Southern Baptists Baptist missionaries from the United States Republican Party members of the Arkansas House of Representatives 21st-century American politicians Baptists from Arkansas Candidates in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections {{Arkansas-politician-stub