Arkansas

ARKANSAS

6 Electoral Votes

Population
(Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Arkansas Secretary of State)

Total Population, July 1, 2008 est.	2,855,390
Total Registration, Nov. 4, 2008	1,684,240

Arkansas has: 75 counties.
Largest counties: Pulaski, Benton, Washington, Sebastian. >
Largest cities: Little Rock, Fort Smith, Fayetteville, North Little Rock. >

Government
Governor: Mike Beebe (D) elected Nov. 2006.
State Legislature: Arkansas General Assembly House: 100 seats Senate: 35 seats
Local: Cities and Towns... NACO Counties
U.S. House: 3D, 1R - 1. M.Berry (D) | 2. V.Snyder (D) | 3. J. Boozman (R) | 4. M.Ross (D).
U.S. Senate: Mark Pryor (D) up for re-election in 2008, Blanche Lambert Lincoln (D) re-elected in 2004.

2008
update U.S. Senate and House: None of the federal representatives faced a major party challenger. Sen. Mark Pryor (D) easily defeated Rebekah Kennedy (G), obtaining 79% of the vote. In U.S. House races, Rep. Berry was unopposed in the 1st CD, and the other three members faced Green challengers who each obtained less than a quarter of the vote. The House balance remains 3D, 1R in the 111th Congress. MORE

State of Arkansas
Secretary of State

AR Democratic Party
AR Libertarian Party
Constitution Party of AR
Green Party of AR
Republican Party of AR

Ark. Dem.-Gazette
Media (Newsp.)
TV, Radio

Politics1-AR
Politics in Arkansas

The Natural State

General Election -- Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Voting Eligible Population*: 2,033,146.
VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 53.4%.

Early Voting: Oct. 20-Nov. 3, 2008. >
"The state’s early and absentee vote totals comprised about 25 percent of the state’s 1.68 million registered voters with a combined total of around 415,000 votes cast. The early vote total of around 385,000 breaks the previous early vote record in 2004 of 300,350. This year's absentee ballot total is around 10,000 less than 2004’s total of 44,729." -AR SoS

Total Registration: 1,684,240.
Voter Registration Deadline: Oct. 6, 2008.

Official Results >
Baldwin/Castle (Const.)	4,023	(0.37)
Barr/Root (Lib.)	4,776	(0.44)
La Riva/Puryear (S&L)	1,139	(0.10)
+McCain/Palin (Rep.)	638,017	(58.72)
McKinney/Clemente (Grn.)	3,470	(0.32)
Nader/Gonzalez (Ind.)	12,882	(1.19)
Obama/Biden (Dem.)	422,310	(38.86)
Total........1,086,617

Total Over Votes 693
Total Under Votes 8,648

2008 Overview
Arkansas is one of few states where the McCain-Palin ticket fared better than Bush-Cheney had in 2004 (in terms of both the number and share of votes). Amid low turnout, the McCain ticket carried 66 counties to 9 for Obama and amassed a plurality of 215,707 votes (19.86 percentage points). Hillary Clinton had done very well in the primary, and it is possible that some of her supporters didn't make the shift to Obama. Race may have been a factor for a few voters; Harrison, AR is home to the KKK. Polls consistently showed McCain ahead by about 9 to 16 points. Sen. McCain made one appearance in the state, a finance event at Embassy Suites Northwest Arkansas in Rogers on Aug. 8. The Obama campaign did open three offices. "Our mission was to use our activists in the state to phone bank into Missouri and various battleground states. We sent nearly 1,000 Arkansans across the border into Missouri to knock on doors the last 6 weekends of the campaign." Former President Bill Clinton headlined rallies in North Little Rock on Oct. 24 and in Pine Bluff and Jonesboro on Oct. 25.
Note: Obama's 9 counties: Chicot, Crittenden, Desha, Jefferson, Lee, Phillips, Pulaski, St. Francis and Woodruff.
Obama/Allies | McCain/Allies | Nader

[Primary Election: May 20, 2008]

Presidential Primary Election -- Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Total Registration: 1,570,961.

Jan. 7, 2008 - Voter Registration Deadline. Jan. 29, 2008 - Early Voting Begins.

Democrats
47 Delegates (35 Pledged, 12 Unpledged) and 6 Alternates.
1.16% of the 4,049 Delegate Votes. 1.11% of the 4,234 Delegate Votes.

Clinton | Obama

Official Results

Joe Biden
515

0.16%

+Hillary Clinton
220,136

70.05%

Chris Dodd
308

0.10%

John Edwards
5,873

1.87%

Mike Gravel
325

0.10%

Dennis Kucinich
393

0.13%

Barack Obama
82,476

26.25%

Bill Richardson
810

0.26%

Uncommitted
3,398

1.08%

Total
314,234

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D) clearly benefited from her years of service as First Lady of Arkansas.

Republicans
34 Delegates: 3 RNC; 19 at-large; 12 by CD (3 x 4 CDs).
1.43% of the 2,380 Delegates.

Allocation
At-large - "Each candidate that hits 10% threshold in statewide primary votes gets 1 delegate and 1 alternate. After that, if a candidate receives 50% of statewide vote, then allocated remaining AL delegates. If no majority winner, then remaining AL delegates allocated among top 3 vote-getters."
CD - "If candidate receives majority of vote, then gets all 3 delegates; if plurality, then highest vote-getter gets two delegates and next highest gets one delegate."

Huckabee | Romney | Paul

Official Results

Rudy Giuliani
658

0.29%

+Mike Huckabee
138,557

60.46%

John McCain
46,343

20.22%

Ron Paul
10,983

4.79%

Mitt Romney
30,997

13.53%

Fred Thompson
628

0.27%

Uncommitted
987

0.43%

Total
229,153

As might be expected former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) did well in his home state.

Greens
Jared A. Ball, 81 votes (10%) Cynthia McKinney, 157 votes (20%) Kent Mesplay, 61 votes (8%) Kat Swift, 46 votes (6%) Uncom, 438 votes (56%) Total, 783.

SoS certifies.

Setting the Primary Date
In early March 2005 then Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) signed into law SB235 "An Act Concerning Presidential Preferential Primary Elections" which moved the state's presidential primary from May to the first Tuesday in February. The bill, by Sen. Tracy Steele (D-North Little Rock), had easily passed both houses of the General Assembly.

[Also Note. In the first part of 2006 the Democratic National Committee sought proposals from state parties to hold presidential caucuses or primaries early, in the pre-window period (i.e. before February 5, 2008), in an effort to increase diversity in the early stages of its nominating process. Arkansas Democrats were among several state parties that applied to the DNC by the April 14, 2006 deadline seeking to hold their primary early. However the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee, meeting on July 22, 2006, recommended South Carolina for the new pre-window primary position].

General Election -- Tuesday, November 2, 2004

Voting Eligible Population: 1,969,208.
VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 53.6%.

Early Voting Begins: Oct. 18, 2004 (15 days before the Election).

Total Registration: 1,684,684.
Voter Registration Deadline: Oct. 3, 2004 (30 days before the Election).

Official Results
Badnarik/Campagna (Lib.)	2,352	(0.22)
+Bush/Cheney (Rep.)	572,898	(54.31)
Cobb/LaMarche (Grn.)	1,488	(0.14)
Kerry/Edwards (Dem.)	469,953	(44.55)
Nader/Camejo (Pop.)	6,171	(0.58)
Peroutka/Baldwin (Const.)	2,083	(0.20)
Total........1,054,945
Total Over Votes 7,249 Total Under Votes 8,379

2004 Overview
Arkansas is another Southern state where the Kerry-Edwards ticket did not go over too well. The Bush ticket expanded upon its 2000 showing, gaining a plurality of 102,945 votes (9.76 percentage points) and carrying 54 of 75 counties (results by county).
General Election Details
Kerry/Allies | Bush-Cheney '04

[Primary Election: May 18, 2004]

General Election -- Tuesday, November 7, 2000

Voting Eligible Population: 1,925,961.
VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 47.9%.

Arkansas has early voting for 15 days prior to Election Day (starting Oct. 23) at county clerks' offices and in multiple locations in Pulaski County. Statewide about 18% voted early or by absentee ballot.

Total Registration: 1,553,356.

Official Results
Buchanan/Foster (Ref.)	7,358	(0.80)
Phillips/Frazier (Const.)	1,415	(0.15)
Hagelin/Goldhaber (NLP)	1,098	(0.12)
Browne/Olivier (Lib.)	2,781	(0.30)
Gore/Lieberman (Dem.)	422,768	(45.86)
Nader/LaDuke (Grn.)	13,421	(1.46)
+Bush/Cheney (Rep.)	472,940	(51.31)
Total........921,781

2000 Overview
The Bush ticket prevailed in President Clinton's home state, returning Arkansas' six electors to the Republican column. Gov. Bush carried 43 of the state's 75 counties and won by a plurality of 50,172 votes. He kept the race close in Pulaski County (Little Rock), and polled strongly in Northwest Arkansas (for example Benton County). In U.S. House races, Democrats picked up a seat as State Sen. Mike Ross of Prescott defeated incumbent Republican Rep. Jay Dickey of Pine Bluff by 51% to 49%.
General Election Activity

1992 and 1996 General Elections

1992

+Clinton (Dem.).....505,823	(53.21)
Bush (Rep.)...........337,324	(35.48)
Perot (Ind.)..............99,132	(10.43)
Others (10)...............8,374	(0.88)
Total........950,653

1996

+Clinton (Dem.).....475,171	(53.74)
Dole (Rep.)............325,416	(36.80)
Perot (Ref.).............69,884	(7.90)
Others (10)..............13,791	(1.56)
Total........884,262