Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
David Sterling
David Sterling ran for election for the Position 2 judge of the Arkansas Supreme Court. He lost in the general election on May 24, 2022.
Sterling was a Republican candidate for Attorney General of Arkansas in the 2014 elections.[1]
Elections
2022
See also: Arkansas Supreme Court elections, 2022
General runoff election
General runoff election for Arkansas Supreme Court Position 2
Incumbent Robin Wynne defeated Chris Carnahan in the general runoff election for Arkansas Supreme Court Position 2 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Robin Wynne (Nonpartisan) | 58.4 | 450,094 |
 | Chris Carnahan (Nonpartisan)  | 41.6 | 321,123 | |
| Total votes: 771,217 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
General election
General election for Arkansas Supreme Court Position 2
Incumbent Robin Wynne and Chris Carnahan advanced to a runoff. They defeated David Sterling in the general election for Arkansas Supreme Court Position 2 on May 24, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Robin Wynne (Nonpartisan) | 49.5 | 202,815 |
| ✔ | | Chris Carnahan (Nonpartisan) | 28.8 | 117,859 |
 | David Sterling (Nonpartisan) | 21.7 | 88,938 | |
| Total votes: 409,612 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2018
- See also: Arkansas Supreme Court elections, 2018
General runoff election
General runoff election for Arkansas Supreme Court Position 3
Incumbent Courtney Rae Hudson defeated David Sterling in the general runoff election for Arkansas Supreme Court Position 3 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Courtney Rae Hudson (Nonpartisan) | 55.7 | 463,631 |
| David Sterling (Nonpartisan) | 44.3 | 369,283 | |
| Total votes: 832,914 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
General election
General election for Arkansas Supreme Court Position 3
Incumbent Courtney Rae Hudson and David Sterling advanced to a runoff. They defeated Kenneth Hixson in the general election for Arkansas Supreme Court Position 3 on May 22, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Courtney Rae Hudson (Nonpartisan) | 37.1 | 113,825 |
| ✔ | | David Sterling (Nonpartisan) | 34.2 | 104,817 |
 | Kenneth Hixson (Nonpartisan) | 28.7 | 87,948 | |
| Total votes: 306,590 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2014
- See also: Arkansas attorney general election, 2014
Sterling ran for election as Attorney General of Arkansas in 2014. Sterling sought the Republican nomination in the primary on May 20, 2014. He lost to Leslie Rutledge in the primary runoff on June 10, 2014.[2] The general election took place on November 4, 2014.
- Republican primary runoff
| Arkansas Attorney General, Republican Primary Runoff, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 Leslie Rutledge |
58.9% | 43,898 | ||
| David Sterling | 41.1% | 30,643 | ||
| Total Votes | 74,541 | |||
| Election results via Arkansas Secretary of State. | ||||
- Republican primary
| Arkansas Attorney General, Republican Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| Leslie Rutledge |
47.2% | 79,347 | ||
| David Sterling |
39.1% | 65,733 | ||
| Patricia Nation | 13.7% | 22,986 | ||
| Total Votes | 168,066 | |||
| Election results via Arkansas Secretary of State. | ||||
Race background
In December 2013, the attorney general race was given its second consecutive "toss-up" rating by Governing. In March 2013, the open seat—held by term-limited Democrat Dustin McDaniel—was first rated vulnerable to partisan switch in the 2014 elections. Shortly before the March rating came out, McDaniel admitted to an extramarital affair in his attorney general tenure. As a result, McDaniel ended his campaign for the governor's office, which was open in 2014 due to incumbent Gov. Mike Beebe hitting term limits.[3]
Ballot access for political parties
In Arkansas, the process to establish a political party is tied to the votes cast in a presidential or gubernatorial election. In order to initially put candidates on the ballot, political parties must submit a petition with 10,000 signatures. Then, in order to maintain that status beyond the election year in which they submit such a petition, their candidate for governor or president must receive at least three percent of the votes cast for that office.[4][5]
In 2012, both the Libertarian and Green parties of Arkansas qualified to put candidates on the ballot, but then their candidates did not receive enough votes for the parties to maintain their ballot status. In the fall of 2013, both parties submitted new petitions and were qualified to put candidates on the 2014 ballot.[6][7][8] In order to maintain their status as political parties without needing to petition for the 2016 elections, their candidates for governor needed to receive at least 3 percent of the vote. Frank Gilbert (L) received 1.9 percent of the gubernatorial vote, and Josh Drake (G) earned 1.1 percent of the vote.[9]
Primary election
Five candidates—three Republican, one Democratic and one Libertarian—filed for the election to replace McDaniel. A primary was held on May 20 to decide which of the three Republicans would move on to the general election with the party's nomination. Neither Leslie Rutledge nor David Sterling, both lawyers from Little Rock, received a sufficient share of the vote to avoid a primary runoff election on June 10.
Rutledge and Sterling both focused on their legal resumes and past efforts to support conservative causes. Rutledge said she was “the only one with experience fighting crime, the only one with experience fighting the overreaching federal government.” Sterling, meanwhile, said his federal court experience made him the better candidate. “The AG’s office is essentially Arkansas’ largest law firm, and I think that the voters want a serious and responsible and experienced attorney leading that law firm,” Sterling said.[10]
Rutledge ultimately defeated Sterling in the Republican primary runoff, earning over 58 percent of the vote.[11] She faced unopposed Democratic nominee Nate Steel and Libertarian Aaron Cash in the general election on November 4.
Questions over Rutledge's voter registration
In late September, Pulaski County Clerk Larry Crane (D) revoked Rutledge's voter registration because she was also registered in Washington, D.C., and Virginia. Rutledge criticized Crane's decision as a political maneuver and said in an interview with the Arkansas News Bureau, "There are consequences related to gender when it comes to women in politics, particularly, we know, when they run for traditionally quote-unquote masculine offices, and the attorney general's office is one of those."[12][12][13]
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
David Sterling did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ David Sterling Attorney General, "Campaign website," accessed August 12, 2013
- ↑ newsobserver.com, "Rutledge wins GOP nomination for attorney general," June 10, 2014
- ↑ Governing, "The 2013-2014 Attorneys General Races: Who's Vulnerable?" March 25, 2013
- ↑ Arkansas Code, "Title 7, Section 1-101-21," accessed December 3, 2013
- ↑ Arkansas House Bill 2036, "An Act To Amend the Law Concerning Certain Procedural Dates In Election; To Amend the Law Concerning Certain Petitions; And For Other Purposes," Approved April 18, 2013
- ↑ Libertarian Party of Arkansas Website, "History of the Libertarian Party of Arkansas," accessed December 5, 2013
- ↑ Green Party of Arkansas Website, "Ballot Access," accessed December 5, 2013
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State Mark Martin, "New Political Party Petition--Green Party," November 6, 2013
- ↑ UALR Public Radio, "Poll: Ross, Hutchinson In Virtual Dead Heat In Governor’s Race," April 6, 2014
- ↑ Arkansas News, "GOP attorney general hopefuls to face off in Tuesday’s runoff election," June 7, 2014
- ↑ newsobserver.com, "Rutledge wins GOP nomination for attorney general," June 10, 2014
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Times Record, "Election 2014: Arkansas AG Candidate Claims Gender Bias," October 5, 2014
- ↑ Times Record, "Ethics Complaint Against Arkansas Attorney General Dismissed," January 24, 2015
| ||||||||||
 |
State of Arkansas Little Rock (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
