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Arkansas' 2nd Congressional District elections, 2014

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Arkansas's 2nd Congressional District
General Election Date
November 4, 2014
Primary Date
May 20, 2014
November 4 Election Winner:
French Hill Republican Party
Incumbent prior to election:
Tim Griffin Republican Party
Tim Griffin.jpg
Race Ratings
Cook Political Report: Lean R[1]

Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean R[2]

Arkansas U.S. House Elections
District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4
2014 U.S. Senate Elections
2014 U.S. House Elections
744px-Flag of Arkansas.svg.png
SimmeringRace.jpg

The 2nd Congressional District of Arkansas held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014.

French Hill (R) won election to the seat in 2014. Three Republicans competed for the seat left open by retiring incumbent Tim Griffin: French Hill, Ann Clemmer and Conrad Reynolds. Hill, the frontrunner in the race, was victorious in the Republican primary.[3][4] He went on to defeat Patrick Hays (D) in the general election.

Candidate Filing Deadline Primary Election General Election
March 3, 2014
May 20, 2014
November 4, 2014

Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Arkansas utilizes an open primary system. Registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[5][6]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Voter registration: To vote in the primary, voters had to register to vote by April 20, 2014. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 5, 2014.[7]

See also: Arkansas elections, 2014

Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Tim Griffin (R), who was first elected in 2010. Griffin did not seek re-election in 2014.[8]

The 2nd Congressional District is located in central Arkansas. Conway, Faulkner, Perry, Pulaski, Saline, Van Buren, and White counties are included in the boundaries of the district.[9]

Candidates

General election candidates

Republican Party French Hill Green check mark transparent.png
Democratic Party Patrick Hays
Libertarian Party Debbie Standiford


May 20, 2014, primary results

Republican Party Republican Primary

Democratic Party Democratic Primary

Libertarian Party Libertarian Convention

Election results

General election

U.S. House, Arkansas District 2 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngFrench Hill 51.9% 123,073
     Democratic Patrick Hays 43.6% 103,477
     Libertarian Debbie Standiford 4.5% 10,590
     N/A Write-in 0.1% 190
Total Votes 237,330
Source: Arkansas Secretary of State

Primary election

U.S. House, Arkansas District 2 Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngFrench Hill 55.1% 29,916
Ann Clemmer 22.8% 12,400
Conrad Reynolds 22.1% 11,994
Total Votes 54,310
Source: Arkansas Secretary of State

Race background

The election filled the vacancy left by Republican incumbent Tim Griffin's retirement. This race was the Democratic Party's best chance to pick up a U.S. House seat in Arkansas. Polling showed a close race between French Hill (R) and Patrick Hays (D), but Hill looked to have a slight advantage throughout. Both the Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball rated the district as Lean R.[12][13]

Debate

On October 13, 2014, a debate was held between Hill, Hays and Standiford. Hill attacked Obamacare saying, "It's a typical example of a one-size-fits-all solution to meet some challenges in our health care system. We wanted to help people with pre-existing conditions have better access to health care. We wanted to extend health care to the most needy. And we wanted to make health care more affordable. We didn't need to redo the entire health care system to tackle some of those issues." While Democrat Hays said that he would not have voted for Obamacare if he were in office, he did say he was happy that it extended health insurance to the poor. Standiford commented that the law was "once again the government stepping in trying to regulate a free market and ending up doing more damage than good."[14]

Both Hill and Standiford also agreed in their opposition to an increase in the federal minimum wage. Hays disagreed and endorsed a ballot proposal on the general election ballot aimed at increasing Arkansas's minimum wage. He said, "It's an incredible travesty for people to work fulltime and still be considered in poverty. It's hard for me to understand where my opponents are coming from."[14]

Endorsements

Patrick Hays

Hays was endorsed by the Blue Dog Coalition.[15]

Polls

General election

General election
Poll French Hill Patrick HaysDebbie StandifordUndecidedMargin of ErrorSample Size
Talk Business/Hendrix College (October 15-16, 2014)
 42%46%5%8%+/-4.7437
Global Strategy Group (September 7-9, 2014)
 41%44%0%15%+/-4.8410
Talk Business & Politics-Hendrix College (July 22-25, 2014)
 44%43%3%10%+/-4.5483
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

Republican primary

Republican Primary
Poll French Hill Conrad ReynoldsAnn ClemmerDon't KnowMargin of ErrorSample Size
Talk Business-Hendrix College (April 29, 2014)
 59%14%7%20%+/-5.1360
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

Media

Patrick Hays

Ad describing how Hays streamlined government as mayor of North Little Rock

Ann Clemmer

Clemmer's first ad, attacking French Hill

Key votes

Below are important votes the former incumbent cast during the 113th Congress.

HR 676

See also: Boehner's lawsuit against the Obama administration

Yea3.png On July 30, 2014, the U.S. House approved a resolution 225 to 201 to sue President Barack Obama for exceeding his constitutional authority. Five Republicans—Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Paul Broun of Georgia, Scott Garrett of New Jersey, Walter Jones of North Carolina and Steve Stockman of Texas—voted with Democrats against the lawsuit.[16] Griffin joined the other 224 Republicans in favor of the lawsuit. All Democrats voted against the resolution.[17][18]

Government shutdown

See also: United States budget debate, 2013

Yea3.png On September 30, 2013, the House passed a final stopgap spending bill before the shutdown went into effect. The bill included a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate and would have also stripped the bill of federal subsidies for congressional members and staff. It passed through the House with a vote of 228-201.[19] At 1 a.m. on October 1, 2013, one hour after the shutdown officially began, the House voted to move forward with going to a conference. In short order, Sen. Harry Reid rejected the call to conference.[20] Griffin voted to approve the stopgap spending bill that would have delayed the individual mandate.[21]

Yea3.png The shutdown ended on October 16, 2013, when the House took a vote on HR 2775 after it was approved by the Senate. The bill to reopen the government lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funded the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies.[22] The House passed the legislation shortly after the Senate, by a vote of 285-144, with all 144 votes against the legislation coming from Republican members. Griffin voted for HR 2775.[23]

Campaign contributions

Pat Hays

French Hill

Ann Clemmer

Conrad Reynolds

**As of the Pre-Primary Report, Reynolds's committee owed $65,000 in outstanding loans to Conrad Reynolds.

District history

Candidate ballot access
Ballot Access Requirements Final.jpg
Find detailed information on ballot access requirements in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

2012

On November 6, 2012, Tim Griffin (R) won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Herb Rule in the general election.

U.S. House, Arkansas District 2 General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Herb Rule 39.5% 113,156
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngTim Griffin Incumbent 55.2% 158,175
     Green Barbara Ward 3% 8,566
     Libertarian Chris Hayes 2.3% 6,701
Total Votes 286,598
Source: Arkansas Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

2010

On November 2, 2010, Tim Griffin won election to the United States House. He defeated Joyce Elliott (D), Lance Levi (I) and Lewis Kennedy (G) in the general election.[40]

U.S. House, Arkansas District 2 General Election, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngTim Griffin 57.9% 122,091
     Democratic Joyce Elliott 38.3% 80,687
     Independent Lance Levi 2.1% 4,421
     Green Lewis Kennedy 1.7% 3,599
Total Votes 210,798

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2014 HOUSE RACE RATINGS FOR June 26, 2014," accessed July 28, 2014
  2. ↑ Sabato's Crystal Ball, "2014 House Races," accessed July 28, 2014
  3. ↑ Talk Business, "French Hill, Bruce Westerman Hold Big Leads In Congressional Races," May 4, 2014
  4. ↑ The Arkansas CW, "Arkansas - Summary Vote Results," May 20, 2014
  5. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures Website, "State Primary Election Types," accessed April 3, 2023
  6. ↑ Ballotpedia research conducted December 26, 2013, through January 3, 2014, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
  7. ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State Website, "Voter Registration Information," accessed January 3, 2014
  8. ↑ Politico, "Arkansas Rep. Tim Griffin won't seek re-election in 2014," October 21, 2013
  9. ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Counties by Congressional Districts," accessed June 8, 2016
  10. ↑ Arkansas Times, " Arkansas Elections Asa Hutchinson 'nudges' French Hill to run for 2nd District Congress. It worked," October 29, 2013
  11. ↑ Arkansas Business, "Pat Hays Announces Run for 2nd District Seat," October 22, 2013 (dead link)
  12. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2014 HOUSE RACE RATINGS FOR June 26, 2014," accessed October 22, 2014
  13. ↑ Sabato's Crystal Ball, "2014 House Races," accessed October 22, 2014
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 The Tribune, "Arkansas' 2nd District candidates meet at debate," October 13, 2014 (dead link)
  15. ↑ Politico, "Obama goes south — Schatz, Sullivan post new ads — Christie returns to New Hampshire — SCF sends funds to McDaniel legal fund," July 9, 2014
  16. ↑ U.S. House, "House Resolution 676," accessed July 30, 2014
  17. ↑ Associated Press, "Suing Obama: GOP-led House gives the go-ahead," July 31, 2014
  18. ↑ Washington Post, "House clears way for lawsuit against Obama," accessed July 30, 2014
  19. ↑ Clerk of the U.S. House, "Final vote results for Roll Call 504," accessed October 31, 2013
  20. ↑ Buzzfeed, "Government Shutdown: How We Got Here," accessed October 1, 2013
  21. ↑ Clerk of the U.S. House, "Final vote results for Roll Call 504," accessed October 31, 2013
  22. ↑ The Washington Post, "Reid, McConnell propose bipartisan Senate bill to end shutdown, extend borrowing," accessed October 16, 2013
  23. ↑ U.S. House, "Final vote results for Roll Call 550," accessed October 31, 2013
  24. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Pat Hays Year-End," accessed February 10, 2013
  25. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Pat Hays April Quarterly," accessed April 30, 2014
  26. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Pat Hays Pre-Primary," accessed May 12, 2014
  27. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Pat Hays July Quarterly," accessed July 24, 2014
  28. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Pat Hays October Quarterly," accessed October 22, 2014
  29. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "French Hill Year-End," accessed February 10, 2014
  30. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "French Hill April Quarterly," accessed April 30, 2014
  31. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "French Hill Pre-Primary," accessed May 12, 2014
  32. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "French Hill July Quarterly," accessed July 24, 2014
  33. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "French Hill October Quarterly," accessed October 22, 2014
  34. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Ann Clemmer Year-End," accessed February 10, 2014
  35. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Ann Clemmer April Quarterly," accessed April 30, 2014
  36. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Ann Clemmer Pre-Primary," accessed May 12, 2014
  37. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Conrad Reynolds Year-End," accessed February 10, 2014
  38. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Conrad Reynolds April Quarterly," accessed April 30, 2014
  39. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Conrad Reynolds Pre-Primary," accessed May 12, 2014
  40. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
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Arkansas' current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
John Boozman (R)
Tom Cotton (R)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
Republican Party (6)

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