governor

Illinois billionaire Richard “Dick” Uihlein has bought $450,000 worth of advertising that supports Attorney General Jeff Landry in the governor’s race. (Wes Muller/Louisiana Illuminator)

Billionaire who funded Jan. 6 rally buys $450,000 in ads for Landry in La. governor’s race

BY: - October 13, 2023

A conservative Illinois billionaire with a history of funding candidates and groups seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election spent $450,000 on advertisements backing Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry in the Louisiana governor’s race, state campaign records show. Richard “Dick” Uihlein is the financial backer of the Iowa-based Americas PAC, which paid the Kansas-based advertising […]

Former Vice President Mike Pence, left, signs a baseball for a man who attended his campaign event July 5, 2023, in Sioux City. (Photo by Jay Waagmeester/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

Pence says he doesn’t buy argument that the rich don’t pay ‘fair share’ of taxes

BY: - July 6, 2023

LE MARS — Former Vice President Mike Pence told Iowa voters Wednesday that he “doesn’t buy” the argument that the wealthiest Americans do not pay their fair share of taxes. U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra and the Wells Visitor Center and Ice Cream Parlor hosted Pence and about 50 attendees at a meet-and-greet in Le Mars. […]

Sanders plugs Arkansas LEARNS Act benefits before receptive Jonesboro audience

BY: - April 25, 2023

JONESBORO — Touting her new education overhaul during a town hall meeting in Jonesboro Monday evening, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she expects Arkansas will soon lead the nation in elementary and high school education. “We’ll see significant changes,” she said to a crowd of about 120 in a small theater inside the Fowler Center […]

Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders marked 100 days in office on April 19, 2023, with a speech in front of the Arkansas Governor's Mansion and an audience of lawmakers, state officials, political leaders and her father and mother, former Gov. Mike Huckabee and First Lady Janet Huckabee. (Photo by Sonny Albarado/Arkansas Advocate)

Arkansas governor touts major accomplishments of first 100 days

BY: - April 19, 2023

With her parents and many Arkansas legislative leaders watching Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders reminded her audience that she “came here to shake things up.” With a spring breeze fluttering the flags behind her, Sanders spoke from a lectern set up outside the front doors of the Governor’s Mansion to mark her first 100 […]

Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson speaks with Iowans April 13, 2023 at VFW Post 9127in Des Moines. (Photo by Luke Clausen/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

On Iowa campaign tour, Asa Hutchinson says he’d ‘defer to science’ in abortion pill access

BY: - April 14, 2023

Amid multiple court rulings on access to medication abortions, Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson said “we should always be deferring to science and make the best decisions on health care based on professional judgments.” Hutchinson, the former governor of Arkansas, was campaigning in central Iowa Thursday. Federal judges in Texas and Washington last week gave […]

Residents of the Walnut Valley neighborhood walk along Shackleford Road in west Little Rock Friday afternoon, March 31, 2023, after a tornado plowed through the area, damaging hundreds of homes and businesses. (John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate)

Tornadoes kill at least 5 in Arkansas, damage hundreds of homes and businesses

BY: and - March 31, 2023

At least five people died in tornadoes in Arkansas on Friday, but officials reported no fatalities in Little Rock as of Saturday afternoon. The first death was reported in the city of North Little Rock in a tornado that struck a little after 2 p.m.; four were killed in Wynne, about 105 miles northeast of […]

COMMENTARY
Celebrate Black History Month with USA flag motif

High schoolers need exposure to ideas in African American studies

BY: - February 2, 2023

As Black History Month begins, our education governor’s Education Department says it’s reviewing an advanced placement course in African American studies that’s being tried out in two Arkansas schools as part of a pilot program in 60 high schools nationwide. The Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education is asking questions of the nonprofit that […]

Stubbs, Penn picked for military and veterans posts in Sanders administration

BY: - January 4, 2023

Brig. Gen. Jon Stubbs will serve as secretary of the military and Adjutant General of the Arkansas National Guard in the administration of Gov.-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders, her transition office announced Wednesday. Sanders also announced the nomination of Maj. Gen. Kendall Penn as secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Penn has been adjutant general […]

COMMENTARY
Smiling teacher teaches children about the solar system

Our new governor must invest in education

BY: - December 7, 2022

Arkansas just made history with the election of Sarah Huckabee Sanders as our first female governor. Her success in her role as governor will depend heavily upon her investment in education. K-12 education issues were a top concern for voters, and her actions on these will be pivotal for our students, families, communities, and the […]

The Arkansas State Capitol dome. (John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate)

Gretchen Conger to be Sanders’ chief of staff

BY: - November 22, 2022

Gretchen Conger will be Gov.-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ chief of staff in the governor’s office, Sanders announced Tuesday. Sanders also announced that she will transfer more than $2.5 million from her 2022 gubernatorial campaign treasury to her 2026 reelection campaign and named campaign manager Chris Caldwell as senior advisor to the reelection campaign. Conger, who […]

The newly renovated Jefferson County Courthouse in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. (Antoinette Grajeda/Arkansas Advocate)

An Arkansas reporter’s election eve travel diary

BY: - November 7, 2022

Advocate Senior Reporter Antoinette Grajeda visited a number of county seats in southern Arkansas on Monday to assess the election environment on the day before Arkansans finish selecting a new governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general, among numerous other federal, state, county and local officials. She tweeted throughout her journey, and here were a few […]

Arkansas gubernatorial candidates debate importance of national politics, media access

BY: - October 21, 2022

Three gubernatorial candidates agreed they want to serve Arkansas, but differed on how much attention should be paid to what’s happening in Washington D.C. during a debate hosted by Arkansas PBS Friday. The hyperpartisanship in national politics is one reason Libertarian Ricky Dale Harrington Jr. said he’s running for Arkansas governor. It’s time to tune […]