ARKANSAS 6 Electoral Votes 
link to clickable map
Population 
(Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Arkansas Secretary of State)
Total Resident Population, July 1, 2012 est.
2,949,131
Total Registration, Nov. 2012
1,618,548
Arkansas has: 75 counties.
Largest counties: Pulaski, Benton, Washington. >
Largest cities: Little Rock, Fort Smith, Fayetteville, Springdale. >

Government
Governor: Mike Beebe (D) elected Nov. 2006, re-elected in 2010.
State Legislature: Arkansas General Assembly   House: 100 seats  Senate: 35 seats 
Local: County and Municipal, City Listings     NACO Counties
U.S. House: 3R, 1D - 1. R.Crawford (R) | 2. T.Griffin (R) | 3. S.Womack (R) | 4. M.Ross (D).
U.S. Senate: Mark Pryor (D) re-elected in 2008, John Boozman (R) elected in 2010. 
2012

U.S. House: The 4th CD (Southwest Arkansas) was open due to Rep. Mike Ross (D)'s retirement.   Republicans achieved a pick up, taking the delegation to 4R, 0D as Tom Cotton (R), an Iraq war veteran who has most recently worked as a management consultant, defeated State Sen. Gene Jeffress (D), Josh Drake (G), who ran in 2010, and Bobby Tullis (L), a former state legislator by 59.5% to 36.7% and less than 2% each for the other two candidates.
State Legislature: Democrats had controlled both chambers of the General Assembly since 1874. 
Republicans made gains in 2010, and heading into Nov. 6, the balance was House 54D, 46R and Senate 20D, 15R.  All 100 House seats and all 35 Senate seats were up.  Republicans achieved historic success, winning control of both chambers: House 51R, 49D and Senate, 21R, 14D.
Ballot Measures: Arkansans voted on five ballot measures. ARSOS

 

 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
Arkansas News
Media (Newsp.)
TV, Radio

Arkansas News-Pol. Buzz
The Tolbert Report

Politics1-AR
Ballotpedia-AR


The Natural State
General Election -- Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Voting Eligible Population*: 2,116,668.
VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 50.5%.


Total Registration:1,618,548.

Voter Registration Deadline: Sunday, October 7, 2012 (actual Monday, October 8, 2012).
Early Voting Begins: Monday, October 22, 2012 (15 days prior to the General Election).

Ballot access note: 7-8-302 (5) (B)  "A political group desiring to have the names of its candidates for President and Vice President printed on the ballot shall file a petition with the Secretary of State by noon on the first Monday of August of the year of the election.  The petition shall contain at the time of filing the names of one thousand qualified electors...."
Official Results >

 
Johnson/Gray (Lib.) 16,276
(1.52)
Stein/Honkala (Grn.) 9,305
(0.87)
+Romney/Ryan (Rep.) 647,744
(60.57)
Obama/Biden (Dem.)
394,409
(36.88)
Lindsay/Osario (PSL)
1,734
(0.16)
Total........1,069,468

 


Total ballots cast: 1,078,548.
Overview: Arkansas is a state where President Obama may well have had a negative effect in down-ticket races, as Republicans made gains at the federal, state and county levels (+).  The Romney ticket achieved a plurality of 253,335 votes (23.69 percentage points), carrying 66 counties to 9 for Obama — Pulaski and neighboring Jefferson plus 7 counties along the eastern border.  Turnout was a bit down from 2008.  In terms of visits, Gov. Romney did a couple of fundraisers in Little Rock on Aug. 22 and Libertarian VP nominee Jim Gray visited Little Rock and Fayetteville on Oct. 19.
Obama  |  (Romney)
BALLOT [PDF]
Presidential Primary Election -- Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Registration: 1,538,619.  Ballots Cast: 335,885.  Voter Turnout: 21.83%.

Democrats
55 Delegates and 3 Alternates
+Barack Obama
94,936
58.37%
John Wolfe
67,711
41.63%
Total
162,647


This marks one of President Obama's weakest showings in a 2012 primary.  John Wolfe, Jr. is a little-known attorney from Chattanooga, TN.


Republicans
36 Delegates: 3 RNC; 21 at-large; 12 by CD (3 x 4 CDs).
1.57% of the 2,286 Delegates.

Unofficial Results
+Mitt Romney
104,200
68.39%
Ron Paul
20,399
13.39%
Rick Santorum
20,308
13.33%
Newt Gingrich
7,453
4.89%
Total
152,360



 Arkansas Code-Elections
>

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

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

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
Archive Pages: 2008 | 2004 | 2000