Arkansas held its general election on November 4, 2014, deciding 118 legislative seats and 7 statewide offices led by the governorship. No chamber changed party control.
Highlights
- Asa Hutchinson (R) won the open governorship, completing Republican control of state government; the party held every constitutional office for the first time since Reconstruction. Republicans also grew their House majority to 64-36 and their Senate majority to 24-11.
- Hutchinson, credited with a near-flawless campaign, beat former U.S. Rep. Mike Ross (D) by about 14 points on a night when Republican Tom Cotton trounced U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor. Down the ballot, Republicans took attorney general, treasurer, and auditor from Democrats. Leslie Rutledge (R) won attorney general by about 8 points over Nate Steel (D), while Dennis Milligan (R) and Andrea Lea (R) won treasurer and auditor easily. Tim Griffin (R) kept the lieutenant governorship in Republican hands, and Secretary of State Mark Martin (R) won re-election.
- Voters ousted 10 sitting legislators in November, all of them Democrats, including Sen. Robert Thompson (D), who lost Senate District 20 to Blake Johnson (R); Linda Collins-Smith (R) also took the open, Democratic-held Senate District 19. The closest House defeats:Democrats held two seats by fewer than 100 votes: Rep. James Ratliff (D) survived by about 50 in House District 60, and Camille Bennett (D) kept the open House District 14 by about 90.
- Voters approved 4 of the 5 measures on the ballot. Issue 5 raised the minimum wage from $6.25 to $8.50 over three years with about two-thirds of the vote, and Issue 3 narrowly passed, pairing a ban on lobbyist gifts with longer legislative term limits. Issue 4, which would have allowed statewide alcohol sales, failed. Issue 1, requiring legislative approval of state agency rules, and Issue 2, revising signature requirements for ballot measures, also passed.
Legislature
- House (100 seats): 48 D, 51 R, 1 other or vacant before the election, 36 D, 64 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
- Senate (35 seats): 13 D, 22 R before the election, 11 D, 24 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
Statewide races
Legislative races
Ballot measures
| Measure | Description | Result |
|---|
| Issue 1 | Requires legislative review and approval of changes to state agencies' administrative rules | Passed (59.19% yes) |
| Issue 2 | Sets threshold of 75 percent of required petition signatures to obtain additional time for signature collection | Passed (53.46% yes) |
| Issue 3 | Extends length of time state legislators can stay in office to 16 years; limits lobbying and creates independent elected officials salary commission | Passed (52.74% yes) |
| Issue 4 | Legalizes manufacture, transportation and sale of alcohol statewide | Failed (42.92% yes) |
| Issue 5 | Increases the state’s minimum wage from $6.25 to $8.50 per hour by 2017 | Passed (66.04% yes) |