Winston Bryant (born October 3, 1938) is an American politician and attorney who served as the

Secretary of State of Arkansas The secretary of state of Arkansas is one of the elected constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The current Secretary of State is Republican John Thurston, former Arkansas land commissioner from Pulaski County in central Arkansa ...

(1977–1978), the 14th

Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas The lieutenant governor of Arkansas presides over the Arkansas Senate with a Casting vote, tie-breaking vote, serves as acting governor of Arkansas when the governor is out of state and assumes the governorship in cases of impeachment, removal from ...

(1981–1991) and

Arkansas Attorney General The Attorney General of Arkansas, usually known simply as the Attorney General (AG), is one of Arkansas's seven constitutional officers. The officeholder serves as the state's top law enforcement officer and consumer advocate. Since January 13 ...

(1991–1999).

Early life and education

He was born in

Malvern, Arkansas Malvern is a city in and the county seat of Hot Spring County, Arkansas, United States. Founded as a railroad stop at the eastern edge of the Ouachita Mountains, the community's history and economy have been tied to available agricultural and min ...

. In 1960, Bryant graduated from

Ouachita Baptist University Ouachita Baptist University (OBU) is a private Baptist university in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. The university's name is taken from the Ouachita (pronounced WAH-shi-tah) River, which forms the eastern campus boundary. It is affiliated with the Arka ...

Arkadelphia Arkadelphia is a city in Clark County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,714. The city is the county seat of Clark County. It is situated at the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains. Two universities, Henderso ...

. He graduated in 1963 from

University of Arkansas School of Law The University of Arkansas School of Law is the law school of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, a state university. It has around 445 students enrolled in its Juris Doctor (J.D.) and Master of Law (LL.M) programs and is home to ...

in Fayetteville. He received a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

in Administrative Law from

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest top law school in the national capital. GW Law offers the largest range of cou ...

in 1970.

Career

Bryant served as a legislative assistant to the late

U.S. Senator 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 powe ...

John L. McClellan John Little McClellan (February 25, 1896 – November 28, 1977) was an American lawyer and a segregationist politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. Representative (1935–1939) and a U.S. Senator (1943–1977) fro ...

from 1968 to 1971. Thereafter, he was a prosecuting attorney in his native Hot Spring County and 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 1973 to 1977. Elected Secretary of State in 1976, he vacated the office after one term, describing it as "a glorified janitor's job." He unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas' Fourth District on 1978 which was being vacated by

Ray Thornton Raymond Hoyt Thornton Jr. (July 16, 1928 – April 13, 2016)Arkansas CourtsA Self-Guided Tour of Justice Building Portraits(2016), p. 11. was an American attorney and politician. He was a Democratic U.S. Representative for Arkansas's 4th co ...

, who ran for the U.S. Senate. Bryant led the five-man primary, but lost in a runoff to Union County Prosecuting Attorney

Beryl Anthony Jr. Beryl Franklin Anthony Jr. (born February 21, 1938) is an American lawyer and former politician who represented Arkansas in the United States House of Representatives. Early life and education Anthony was born in El Dorado, Arkansas. He attend ...

He was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1980 and served one term under Republican Governor Frank White and four terms under Democrat Bill Clinton before being elected Attorney General in 1990. He won 55–45% for the post over future Congressman and Governor

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 ...

, and was renominated in the 1994 Democratic primary 58-42% over State Representative (and future U.S. Senator)

Mark Pryor Mark Lunsford Pryor (born January 10, 1963) is an American attorney, politician and lobbyist who served as a United States Senator from Arkansas from 2003 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Prior to becoming senator, he was Attorne ...

. Bryant triumphed in the ordinarily heavily Republican year by a margin of 80–20% over his GOP opponent, Dan Ivy, an attorney and former Democrat. While serving as Attorney General, Bryant waged two separate campaigns for the

United States 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 ...

. In 1996, he ran for the seat being vacated by Senator

David Pryor David Hampton Pryor (born August 29, 1934) is an American politician and former Democratic United States Representative and United States Senator from the State of Arkansas. Pryor also served as the 39th Governor of Arkansas from 1975 to 1979 ...

. He received the Democratic nomination in a close runoff primary against State Senator and future University of Central Arkansas President Lu Hardin, but lost in a close race to Republican Congressman

Tim Hutchinson Young Timothy Hutchinson (born August 11, 1949) is an American Republican politician, lobbyist, and former United States senator from the state of Arkansas. Personal life Hutchinson was born in Bentonville in northwestern Arkansas, the son of ...

. When Arkansas's other senator,

Dale Bumpers Dale Leon Bumpers (August 12, 1925 – January 1, 2016) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 38th Governor of Arkansas (1971–1975) and in the United States Senate (1975–1999). He was a member of the Democratic Party. Prio ...

, retired before the 1998 election, Bryant once again ran in the Democratic

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 * ...

. He placed second in the initial balloting, and lost the run-off to former Representative

Blanche Lincoln Blanche Lambert Lincoln (born Blanche Meyers Lambert; September 30, 1960) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Arkansas from 1999 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, she was first elected to the Senate in 19 ...

who went on to defeat Republican state Senator

Fay Boozman Fay Winford Boozman III (November 10, 1946 – March 19, 2005) was an American ophthalmologist and politician who served as a member of the Arkansas Senate from 1995 to 1999. Boozman was born in 1946, the son of Marie Nicholas and U.S. Air Force ...

in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. After his defeat by Lincoln, he finished his term as Attorney General and retired to his law practice in Malvern.

Personal life

He is married to the former Susan Hughes and has one son, John Bryant. He enjoyed watching his great nephews play baseball.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryant, Winston 1938 births Living people Arkansas Attorneys General Lieutenant Governors of Arkansas Democratic Party members of the Arkansas House of Representatives Secretaries of State of Arkansas United States Army officers Ouachita Baptist University alumni University of Arkansas School of Law alumni George Washington University Law School alumni People from Malvern, Arkansas